Hanley Town 4-3 Widnes FC

A brace from Alex Davies and a long-range striker from Paul Carney proved in vain as Widnes FC fell to a 4-3 defeat to Hanley Town despite a spirited performance in the Midlands.

A Leigh Skellern strike and a Theo Stair penalty either side of Carney’s equaliser in his 50th appearance for the club ensured that the hosts led at the break. However, Alex Davies equalised for Widnes shortly after the hour-mark before Skellern added his second to give the hosts a 3-2 lead. 7 minutes from time, substitute Gareth Tweats struck the ball home to effectively hand all three points to the hosts, who survived a late Widnes fightback that saw Davies net a consolation and a George McGrogan header cleared off the line.

Following Monday night’s draw at home to Cheadle Town, Widnes boss Steve Hill made two changes to his starting line-up for the trip to Abbey Lane. Gary Williams was given the chance to impress for the visitors as he replaced the unavailable Jordan Stanley in the heart of the Widnes defence, while Josh Williams returned from a one-game absence to partner Jamil Campbell-Joseph up-front, coming in for the unavailable Danny Lomax.

The home side were quick out of the blocks as Arron Johns floated a cross into the area that was headed across the face of goal and wide by Gareth Stanyer, with last season’s beaten playoff finalists laying down a marker early in the encounter.

Midfielder Danny Burthem was first to have a shot on goal for Widnes, as his 25-yard effort whistled wide of the post.

Hanley were content to let Widnes have the ball early, placing emphasis on the counter-attack and direct football. The away side were looking to utilise the movement of Campbell-Joseph and Josh Williams who were playing off the last man with Luke Edwards and Alex Davies providing support on the flanks.

It was this offensive strategy that saw Widnes come close to breaking the deadlock 17 minutes into the opening half. A quick breakaway from the Whites saw Williams race clear off the back-four, leaving keeper Joe Hemmings to beat who got down well to tip Williams’ shot past the post.

Hanley captain Theo Stair registered 30 goals for the Staffordshire outfit last term, playing a pivotal role in the side’s run to the playoff final, agonizingly missing out on promotion. Stair’s effectiveness was limited in the first-half by a stout Widnes defence, with his only sniff at goal coming midway through the first period, lobbing his effort over the bar under pressure from the pursuing Paul Carney and on-rushing keeper Gage Walsh.

Shortly before the half-hour mark, Widnes had the ball in the net. A corner from the right eventually came back out to Luke Edwards who drove the ball into the bottom corner. However, the assistant referee on the far side flagged for offside against striker Williams, who attempted to flick the ball into the net. After a deliberation with the referee who gave the goal, Edwards’ strike was chalked off with the new offside law introduced this summer preventing Widnes from breaking the deadlock.

Hanley took the lead shortly thereafter. Widnes gave possession away cheaply in midfield allowing Stanyer to play a through ball to Leigh Skellern, who made light work of Gary Williams before slotting the ball beneath the oncoming Walsh to give the hosts the lead.

It wasn’t long before Widnes equalised. 5 minutes prior to the break, a Campbell-Joseph pass was charged down by Hanley with the ball breaking to Paul Carney who composed himself before finding the net in off the post from 30 yards to mark his 50th appearance for the club with a goal.

Inside first-half stoppage time, Hanley were awarded a penalty. Widnes ‘keeper Gage Walsh sensationally denied a free-kick from Theo Stair before Michael Morton played the ball off of the hand of Gary Williams. The referee pointed to the spot; a somewhat dubious decision considering the position of Williams’ hand and the fact that he was two yards away from Morton. Town’s skipper Stair stepped up and confidently converted the spot-kick to give his side a 2-1 halftime lead.

Halftime: Hanley Town 2-1 Widnes

Widnes’ play in the first 45 minutes didn’t warrant a halftime deficit as the better side were losing as the sides headed in at the break. The second half began in scrappy fashion, with both sides failing to create anything of note offensively.

Widnes equalised shortly after the hour-mark. The visitors showed their capability on the counter-attack as Alex Davies burst forward for Hill’s side before firing the ball into the roof of the net to net his second goal in as many games.

Hanley’s response was immediate. Widnes failed to deal with a Stair corner from the right with Leigh Skellern eventually directing the loose ball into the roof of the net following a scramble in the 6-yard area. It was a sloppy goal to concede from Widnes’ point-of-view, with the visitors’ hard work to fight back being quickly undone.

15 minutes from time, Hanley came closing to doubling their advantage. A corner from the left eventually fell at the feet of Tom Thorpe who rifled a shot towards goal that was sensationally tipped over the bar by Walsh.

Hanley eventually did net a fourth as time began to diminish. Gareth Tweats found himself through on goal on the right before advancing on goal and finding the bottom corner with his effort that managed get by the outstretched Walsh, finding the net.

Despite Hanley’s controlling position, it was not over yet. Widnes would not lie down as Hill’s side continued to fight. Josh Williams dinked the ball into the path of Davies who hit a superb volley into the top corner, finding the net for the second time in the game, giving the Whites a huge lifeline.

You wouldn’t have written Widnes off for finding an equaliser, as it was no less than they deserved. It very nearly came in added time. A bevy of corners from the visitors eventually led to defender George McGrogan seeing his goal bound header cleared off the line by Ben Blowers, allowing Hanley to hang on for all three points.

Fulltime: Hanley Town 4-3 Widnes

Widnes manager Steve Hill felt that his side are moving in the right direction, despite being without a win in their first four fixtures. “We are moving forwards despite the fact that the results haven’t gone in our favour. We just need to stop giving sloppy goals away. But, I’m happy with the progress we’re making as a team and with the football we’re playing at the moment. I’m not panicking. We’ve scored 8 goals in four games which is a real positive.”

Widnes will remain on their travels next week as they pay a visit to Silver Street to take on Irlam. Hill believes that his side will have to maintain their performance levels to pickup that first win. “It will be a tough game. Irlam have started the season well, but we need to go and pickup three points. If we play anything like we did today, I’m sure we’ll get something out of it, but as I said, we need to work on our defensive play for that to happen.”

Hanley Town: Hemmings, Grice, Blowers, J. Stair, Thorpe, Morton (J. Skellern 54), Johns, Stanyer (Tweats 45), Skellern, T. Stair (C), Mellor.

Subs not used: Evans, Day, Townsend.

Widnes FC: Walsh, McGrogan, Carney, Mitchell (C), G. Williams (Casson 69), Burthem, Davies, Hackett, J. Williams, Campbell-Joseph, Edwards.

Subs not used: Goudie, Mavers, Cork.