Eccleshall 1 Sandbach United 4

The away side had the first real chance of the game after just 11 minutes when Josh Lane sent the ball down the right flank, into the path of Kieran Garner-Knapper who drove down the line and into the box, as the angle tightened the Sandbach winger unleashed a shot from 10 yards which was well saved by the legs of the keeper.

Sandbach had started brightly, three minutes later they came close once again when a Josh Lane corner from the right was met by the head of Matty Pearson at the back post, but he could only head wide from close range.

In the 17th minute the home side took the lead against the run of play, a deep free kick fell to Luke Walsh on the edge of the box, his shot was blocked but it fell to the feet of Louis Downs who fired in a low shot from the left and it found the far right corner of the goal.

8 minutes later Sandbach finally found the back of the net when a deep cross from the right by Josh Lane found James Kirby at the back post, his initial header was blocked by the defender but when the ball fell to his feet again he made no mistake in finding the back of the net and levelling the scores.

United knew that they deserved to be ahead, they had controlled the game up to now and had they were being let down by their poor finishing. Moments after levelling the game Kirby almost put his side ahead. Josh Lane switched the ball from right to left and found Aidan Haughton in space, he then played a superb ball into the feet of James Kirby who was on the edge of the box in bags of space, Kirby turned and with the keeper rushing towards him, he audaciously lifted the ball over the keeper but unfortunately it clipped the top of the bar and went out for a goal kick.

Sandbach were dominating the game, they were keeping the ball well despite the bobbly pitch, on the stroke of half time they almost took the lead when Kirby received the ball on the edge of the box from Ryan Allcock, Kirby then lifted the ball over the defender and into the path of Allcock who had continued his run into the box, the Sandbach midfielder then fired the ball towards the far right corner but it just went the wrong side of the post and out for a goal kick.

At half time the scores were somehow level. Eccleshall had had one shot on target all half and they had scored from it, Sandbach on the other hand had dominated their opposition and they deserved to be in front. Manager Andy Hockenhull would have been very disappointed in his sides inability to find the net. Whatever he said at the break seemed to work when two minutes after the restart Sandbach completed their comeback through a Josh Lane freekick from around 25 yards out. He struck his shot low and it went around the wall and looked to be fairly straightforward for the Eccleshall keeper, however as the ball got to Owen Wyatt in the Eccleshall goal the ball seemed to bobble up which then made it go over the keeper and into the net. It was a fortunate way to take the lead however it was a deserved goal for United.

After scoring their second goal, Sandbach pushed and looked to put the game beyond doubt. They added a third just moments later when a short corner from Lane found substitute Aaron Knight who then played the ball back to Lane on the left side of the box, he cut inside and shot low and hard with his right foot, the ball missed everyone and found its way into the bottom right corner of goal.

Sandbach’s third goal was a killer for the home side who really struggled to get back into the game. Josh Lane had been excellent all game and he nearly completed his hat trick in the 56th minute when he took aim from around 30 yards out, his free kick looked destined for the top left corner, but the keeper did superbly well to hand a finger on the ball to tip it over the bar and out for a corner. It was an outstanding save as the ball was moving in the air.

Five minutes later Sandbach came very close to adding a fourth when another dangerous corner from Lane found Pearson at the back post, his header beat the keeper, but it was blocked by the Eccleshall player on the line. Sandbach finally added a fourth just two minutes later when Knight received the ball on the edge of the box, he then played the ball to Haughton on the left, he opened up his body and placed the ball just inside the far right post and into the net. The inclusion of Knight had been vital for United, his calmness and composure on the ball was proving very difficult for the Eccleshall players to deal with.

The game was over and Sandbach could relax for the remainder of the game. In the 91st minute they almost added a fifth when substitute Jordan Erdmann received the ball with his back to goal on the edge of the box, he made some space and took a shot with his left on the turn, which cannoned off the left post and was then cleared away to safety.

The game ended 4-1 and despite a relatively poor first half performance Sandbach dominated the game, however manager Andy Hockenhull will not be impressed with their inability to find the net, it is something they will have to improve on, especially when they face some of the other promotion contenders in the league.

Match Report: Jack Beresford