Triple blow leaves hapless Eastwood with a mountain to climb
A NIGHTMARE first half performance sent Eastwood Town tumbling out of the FA Trophy.
UniBond Premier Division side Nantwich Town were three goals ahead after 40 minutes and the Badgers never really threatened to turn the third qualifying round tie on its head after the interval.
The opening exchanges were tentative, with both sides playing very direct football in difficult conditions.
But it was Nantwich who went ahead after 11 minutes when the ball ran loose on the edge of the Eastwood area and a good touch and shot saw Michael Lennon fire home from eight yards.
Nantwich grew in stature, with Glyn Blackhurst and Liam Dawson running the midfield, and it was no surprise when they got a second goal after 23 minutes.
Dawson fired in a low corner that goalkeeper Jan Budtz fumbled and the ball squeezed under his body to go in at the near post.
Eastwood were limited to long-range efforts and struggled to find any rhythm when a third Nantwich goal left them in deep trouble.
A speculative ball towards the far post was missed by the Eastwood defence and, from an acute angle, Sam Madeley was all alone to make it 3-0.
The Badgers were unfortunate not to get a foothold in the game before half-time when a long ball was missed by goalkeeper Lee Jones but cleared brilliantly off the line by Dave Whittaker.
Manager Paul Cox took off Peter Knox and Ian Holmes and replaced them with Ross Gardner and Danny Holland in a bid to spark his side into life for the start of the second half but the gamble failed.
Two Eastwood free kicks from good positions failed to hit the target and the match ended with Nantwich hitting the bar in the dying seconds.
EASTWOOD TOWN: Budtz, Cooke, Riley, Nwadike, McAughtrie, Robinson, Bailey (Brown, 80), Foster, Knox (Holland, 45), Holmes (Gardner, 45), Meikle. Other subs: Whitehurst, Chambers.
NANTWICH TOWN: Jones, Reeves, Tickle, Sutton, Whittaker, Sedgemore, Carter (Mahmood, 71), Blackhurst, Madeley (McPherson, 86), Lennon, Dawson (Carter, 80). Other subs: Jack, Street.
REFEREE: C Akers.
ATTENDANCE: 312.
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