Saturday 14th August 2021, NWCFL First Division South

Cheadle Heath Nomads 2 (Shawcross 13, pen 81)
West 2 (Heathcote 52, Delaney 70)
Att: 116

West shared four goals for the second time in as many games as Cheadle Heath Nomads struck late to claim their first point of the season.

In a reverse of the pattern from Tuesday night’s draw against New Mills, Nomads took a first-half lead before Sam Heathcote and Liam Delaney put West ahead after the break. But the home side levelled from the spot with seven minutes to get off the mark for the season and take West’s record to eight points from four games.

Though they ended the game against the Millers in the asecendancy, West started sluggishly in Stockport and were behind after 13 minutes. West surrendered the ball in midfield and after William Shawcross was set free, the Nomads striker rounded Andrew Jones to open the scoring.

Following this wake-up call, West gradually came to life but chances from open play were at a premium – the clearest opportunities came from set-pieces, with a Rhain Davis corner headed onto his own bar by a Nomads defender and Heathcote seeing a header from another delivery ruled out for a push.

West emerged from the half-time break with more attacking intent and were level inside seven minutes, albeit from another dead-ball situation – Heathcote’s free kick from 30 yards taking a nick off a Nomads defender and sailing over keeper Alex Fowell.

Chris Rowley’s side were now on top and six minutes after Liam Delaney replaced Callum Jones, the substitute put West ahead with a spectacular first goal of the season. After another corner had dropped to the edge of the box, Delaney arrived to crash home a ferocious half-volley before celebrating with the travelling support behind the goal.

West looked on course for a third win of the season but crucially failed to add a third, with Joel Swift seeing a pair of opportunities to score his first goal in West colours pass by. And the visitors provided a sting in the tail in the closing stages – Heathcote was perhaps unfairly ruled against when the ball bounced up onto his hand inside the box, before Shawcross sent Jones the wrong way to level the scores.

The visitors pushed for a deciding fifth goal until the final whistle but the referee called time after Connor Hancock’s late cross had drifted out of play. West’s unbeaten start to the league season is still intact, but three games without a win and three games without a clean sheet are unfamiliar statistics under Rowley’s reign and attentions will now turn to Tuesday night’s visit of Barnton.

West: A. Jones, Hancock, Westall, C. Jones (Delaney 64), Dibble, Heathcote, Matthews (Tinker 75), Davis, Elliott, Ryan, Gabidon (Swift 30). Not used: Eme, Jackson.

Full gallery of images from Simon Cook

Post-match reaction from Chris Rowley