Nelson's game at Atherton LR on Tuesday night turned on a controversial incident early in the second half when the Blues were reduced to ten men by the sending off of Michael Cheetham and Atherton were awarded a penalty.
In the first half the Blues had done reasonably well and might have taken the lead after six minutes when Luke Hargreaves’ angled drive across the home penalty area only needed a touch but was put behind for a corner.
The Nelson defence were in good form and Darren Wright cut out some dangerous through balls as the Atherton strikers Phil Howard and Daniel Smith combined well with some direct attacks. Chris Thompson needed to make a good save at Jonathan Bullough’s feet when he slipped past the Blues defence.
Martin Payne’s strong runs promised to create openings for Nelson but Lance Ogunyode up front was well marked by the home defence. After 28 minutes, Chris Clarkson almost found the net with an angled shot that drifted just past the post with the home keeper beaten.
After 52 minutes, following a corner kick, the referee spotted an infringement in the Nelson penalty area and sent Michael Cheetham off for a foul on Lee Skett. The incident did not seem that serious but Atherton gratefully accepted the opportunity to take the lead from the penalty spot through Daniel Smith.
Atherton pressed forward and Chris Thompson made a great point blank save in his goalmouth to prevent another goal. Nelson’s ten men regained their composure with Alex Mugan controlling the defensive line.
The Blues still managed to attack and Lance Ogunyode saw his shot blocked in the home penalty area following a Nelson free kick. Marc Taylor made time away from his defensive duties to force an attack on the right wing before shooting across the face of goal. Taylor later had to be substituted following an extremely bad tackle from an Atherton player who only received a yellow card from the referee.
On 78 minutes, Chris Thompson made a great save to keep out Daniel Smith’s shot from the top corner of his goal and the ball was eventually scrambled to safety by the Nelson defence under pressure. As Nelson pressed forward in the closing stages, they left gaps at the back and Phil Howard found plenty of room to score Atherton’s second goal after 84 minutes on a through ball from Jon Stephenson.
Nelson were without four of their first choice players and will face the same situation when they travel to high flying Congleton on Saturday. However two of those players will be available for next Wednesday night when they entertain Bacup Borough at Victoria Park.
