JOHNSTON CURLS IN A DABBERS SAVIOUR
NANTWICH Town and Grantham Town played out a thrilling draw as two of the promotion chasers came together at the Weaver Stadium.
The visitors started brightly as they capitalised on two early mistakes in the Dabbers’ defence, with Felipe Barcelos and Luke Shaw almost finding the back of the net.
They did make the most of their fast start though when the ball fell to top goalscorer Lee Shaw, who curled the ball into the bottom corner to give his side the lead on eight minutes.
The Dabbers remained under the cosh as the high energy and pressing of Grantham forced them into mistakes at the back. From one, Harry Clifton should have put Grantham 2-0 up, but his pointblank shot on goal was superbly tipped over by Dan Gyollai between the Dabbers’ sticks. After being under pressure for most of the first half, the Dabbers equalised on the counter attack on 26 minutes, when Joe Mwasile fed through to John Johnston, who curled superbly into the far corner.
The game was being played at a frantic pace,
with Grantham looking dangerous on the attack as Shaw tried his luck from distance, but it was a comfortable save from Gyollai.
At the other end of the pitch, Mwasile and Johnston were causing the Gingerbreads’ defence problems, and Ellis Storey went into the book for a pull on Johnston as the half calmed down slightly.
The Dabbers made an early change in the second half as they brought on top goalscorer Sean Cooke to try and find another goal, a move which saw them pile the pressure on their hosts.
Cooke put a free-kick straight at Kieran Preston before Tom Peers headed high over the goal with a free header.
Grantham were still posing a threat, and Lee Shaw hit the woodwork from a free header before they saw two more chances go wide.
Cooke showed the type of form that has seen him score 19 goals this season, as he shot on goal from 25 yards, but the game remained an open contest as both teams looked for a winner, with Lee Shaw putting an effort over the bar.
Despite the best efforts of both teams, there were no clear chances as the sides had to settle for a point apiece at the end of 90 minutes.
The draw sees Nantwich sit third in the Evo-Stik Premier Division, with Grantham five points behind in sixth position. STAR MAN: Ibou Touray (Nantwich) ENTERTAINMENT: ★★★★★