TITLE JOY IS NEW HIGH FOR PEAKS!
IN front of the 2,938 joyous supporters – the highest home league crowd at The Lamb for nearly half a century – Andy Peaks’ side celebrated their second successive promotion.
Peaks could not contain his joy at getting over the line to lift the trophy at home after this share of the spoils with Warrington Town
“We couldn’t have asked for a better turnout to cheer us on to the title, our supporters have been fantastic all season,” Peaks said.
“At the start of the season, I don’t think anyone could have imagined today was something that would happen, but it has and my players have been superb throughout. It’s unbelievable.”
With one eye on the scoreline at Buxton, Tamworth took the game to the visitors and created a raft of half-chances in the first half.
Ben Acquaye’s mazy run nearly bore fruit early on and Chris Wreh was on target but Dan Atherton in the Warrington goal was doing everything he could.
Ben Mines struck a powerful shot from 20 yards that Atherton pushed away and it was picked up by Kyle Finn, who appeared to be tripped on route, but the referee awarded a free-kick the other way and booked the Lambs player to the consternation of the home faithful.
And so, Atherton’s determination to keep Tamworth at bay meant it took until the half-hour for the Lambs to relieve the pressure on the terraces when a corner fell for Nathan Tshikuna and he struck low from 18 yards via a slight deflection to take it past the stranded keeper.
Atherton continued to claim the ball as his own or batted away on target strikes by Finn, Wreh and home captain Milnes away from danger as Tamworth looked to extend their lead.
With Chorley stuttering in their game, the visitors made it all square on 52 when substitute Dubem Eze ended a move out of midfield with an angled shot from the right of the box which skipped past Jas Singh.
Despite the equaliser, and a few hardworking forays by the Steve Smith’s visitors led by first-half substitutes Joshua Amis and Dubem Eze, Tamworth’s mean defence refused to be beaten a second time.
Jas Singh pushed a Matthew MacDonald strike around the post in added time to ensure the scoreline stayed as it was and fans joined their heroes on the field when the final whistle blew to cap a fantastic season.
★★★★★