Sandbach United 5 Cheadle Town 0

Sandbach faced Cheadle Town in the second round of the first division cup on Saturday, last time the two sides met the game ended 7-0 to Sandbach so manager Andy Hockenhull would have been hoping for more of the same writes Jack Beresford.

The game took a while to get going, both sides struggled to get the ball down and keep possession. The first real chance came after 17 minutes as a free kick from Dean Twigg was met by Kris Stockton who saw his header from point blank range superbly saved by the keeper who didn’t really know much about it.

Two minutes later Stockton was forced off the field with a hamstring injury which was a big loss for Sandbach as he was a major threat in the air.

The game needed something special to bring it to life and with five minutes left in the half, Billy Buckley brilliantly curled a free kick from the left of the box into the top right corner of the goal, leaving the keeper with no chance and putting his side in the lead. It was a moment of magic from the midfielder, whose set plays have become a real asset for Sandbach this season.

With five minutes to go until half time Sandbach would have liked to go into the break a goal ahead but in the 42nd minute there was almost an instant reply from the away side as Ruben Abreu used his pace to race down the left and then cut into the box, as he got into the box the keeper came rushing out and made himself as big as he could to block the shot and preserve United’s lead.

The referee had indicated three minutes of added time which gave Sandbach time to double their lead, Kieran Garner-Knapper has helped Sandbach massively as they look to add more goals to their game. His blistering pace is a problem for any defences.

In the 48th minute he used this pace to drive down the right flank before crossing to Kirby at the back post. Sandbach’s top scorer was unmarked and he was able to rifle the ball into the back of net from six yards out making the scores 2-0 to United as the teams went in at half time.

At the break Sandbach manager Andy Hockenhull would have been delighted that his side were 2 goals to the good, however there was still plenty of room for improvement.

The second half couldn’t have started any better for the home side as five minutes in they were 3-0 up. Jake Chadwick fed the ball to Kirby who muscled his way into the box before firing the ball into the far-right corner, leaving the keeper with no chance. Kirby, who is in the form of his life has now scored 13 goals in his last 8 games for united.

With 25 minutes of the game left Sandbach looked to have the game in the bag, however Cheadle came very close to pulling a goal back as a deep cross from the right was met by the dangerous Abreu at the back post who was unable to find the target with his header from six yards out. It was a golden chance for the away side to get back into the game. They were made to pay for this miss one minute later when Sandbach grabbed their fourth of the afternoon.

Another dangerous corner from Buckley was met by defender Declan O’Riodan at the back post who bundled in his first Sandbach goal. Yet again Buckley’s delivery caused havoc in the opposition box, allowing Sandbach to capitalise and score off another set play.

With 22 minutes to go Hockenhull bought off both Buckley and Garner-Knapper to rest them.

Garner Knapper’s replacement, Josh Lane made an instant impact as after only five minutes he scored the goal of the game. A corner from the right was cleared only as far as Matty Pearson, he fed the ball to Lane who was on the edge of the box, Lane then turned and brilliantly curled the ball around the defender and into the top right corner, a moment of magic from the substitute who is looking to get back to full fitness following a nasty ankle injury that he picked up earlier in the season.

At 5-0 Sandbach were cruising, they looked to keep possession and tire the away side out with 10 minutes to go James Kirby could have bagged his hat-trick. A through ball to Chadwick allowed him to run towards goal, with the keeper sprinting towards him he unselfishly squared it to Kirby who had the whole goal to aim at, however he blazed the ball over the bar and into the field behind the goal. It was unlike Kirby who is free scoring form at the moment.

The game ended 5-0 to United, this result sees the, progress into the next round of the first division cup, a competition in which they have been relatively successful in previous years.

Match Report: Jack Beresford

More match photographs can be viewed by clicking here.