It was another tough away day in Manchester for Stafford Town as they suffered their heaviest defeat of the season, a 5-0 humbling at the hands of Wythenshawe Amateurs. In particular, Stafford would be disappointed with the apparent lack of any team cohesion in both defence and attack as they failed to do even the simple things required to compete. The opening thirty minutes belonged to Wythenshawe as the Stafford players were seemingly unable to get to grips with the midfield diamond employed by the hosts, despite the best efforts of the management to provide the solutions. After a couple of inviting crosses in the opening minutes, Wythenshawe took the lead in the 12th minute, a shot from just over 20 yards finding the net. The second arrived six minutes later, Stafford sloppily conceding possession inexplicably from their own throw which allowed the ball to be slipped through the defence and slotted under Stafford ‘keeper Joe Morris. The only shot of the half for Stafford came in the 24th minute, Kyle Ashman cutting in from the left and unleashing a powerful shot across goal that was pushed wide. Wythenshawe should have added to the lead on the half hour, Stafford failing to deal with a simple diagonal ball into the box which saw Morris lobbed but the ball drifted wide of the post. The final fifteen minutes of the half were the best of the game for Stafford as Wythenshawe seemed to drop their level, perhaps unsurprising given their total dominance up to that point. Stafford began to string some passes together, some neat interplay between Ashman and Ryan Taylor down the left led to a dangerous cross that lacked any finish. Following a good run and cross by Nathan Scott down the right that was blocked for a corner, an extended spell of Stafford possession eventually resulted in another good cross from the left, this time by Harry Bowers but the home ‘keeper was in the perfect place to claim the ball. HT 2-0 Wythenshawe Amateurs. Wythenshawe began the second period in much the same fashion as the first; two goals in quick succession curtailing any momentum that Stafford looked to build upon from the end of the first half. The first of these came in the 54th minute, a driving run by the Wythenshawe forward through the middle of the Stafford defence finished with a deftly lofted chip over the onrushing ‘keeper. The second goal three minutes later saw an initial cross from the left evade everyone, the ball collected on the right and swept back into the box, Morris unable to keep the ball out of the net as he appeared to be impeded by a Wythenshawe player on the line; the goal allowed to stand despite the obvious protests to the officials. Wythenshawe continued to pepper the Stafford goal, heading over from inside the six-yard box on one corner and having several shots from distance deflected wide or saved. Stafford thought they had pulled a goal back in the 78th minute, a tight offside call denying Ashman, who finished well after being played through by Scott. Wythenshawe put some real gloss on the scoreline in the 83rd minute, a Wythenshawe player driving in from the right and finishing well from a tight angle. There was a final chance for Stafford; a free kick delivered into the box by Scott was flicked goalwards by Tom Duffy, the Wythenshawe ‘keeper showing great reflexes and agility to tip the ball over the bar. In the end however Stafford did not deserve anything from the game, the match clearly illustrating that they have some way to go to compete with the top six in the league this season. FT 5-0 Wythenshawe Amateurs. The tough games continue for Stafford with consecutive home league matches against fifth-placed Sandbach United on Saturday 9th October followed by Stockport Town on Saturday 16th October.
All the goals can be found as usual at Stafford Town TV: https://youtu.be/17r6sB6mD_0
