Northwich Vics 4 Selby Town 0

COMPETITION : Isuzu FA Vase 1st Preliminary Round
DATE - Saturday 26th August 2023
VENUE - Barton Stadium, Winsford

LINE-UP Vics’ -
Reid, Camozzi, Hughes, Cole,,Kebeya ( Krakue 54'), Jackson, Exell, Clarke ( Parker 64'), Switters, Unwin (Sultan 59'), Perry

Subs Not used : Camara, Bamba, McKenzie, Griman

GOALS - : Northwich Vics : Unwin 11', Jackson 57', Sultan 60', Parker 90+4'

A well deserved victory for the Vics against a spirited and physical Selby side , and a match that saw the return of 2 Vics' favourites in the form of Joe Camozzi who has re-signed for Vics, and Matty Clarke who has come back from injury.

A well contested first half with Vics making the early running. Kev Exell skied a shot over when he got in behind the defence in just the third minute but Selby did have their moments though and Reid in the Vics' net had to be at his best shortly afterwards as a shot was drilled in from the edge of the area after a corner. However Vics were looking dangerous every time they went forward and Ryan Jackson did well to escape down the left in the 10th minute before putting in a ball which was inches away from finding Marcus Perry in the middle. A minute later, and Vics went ahead, Sam Unwin skinned the full back and surged into the box and smashed in a shot from the angle past Burnett in the Selby goal. 5 minutes later, Unwin again went down the right, and this time crossed where Perry was again inches away from putting the ball in the net. 29 minutes in, and it was Selby's turn to go close as Ned Dry glanced a header wide from a good cross in. Vics were still looking the most dangerous though, Nathan Kebaya had a shot which was deflected wide whilst Unwin was unlucky with a header as he found himself in space as Exell headed a ball back into the area from a corner. Vics had a big penalty claim in the 36th minute as debutant Gabe Cole was taken out by keeper Burnett as he came out to punch the ball but the referee saw otherwise.The match was threatening to get a bit niggly now with 4 yellow cards shown in the last 10 minutes of the half. Vics just about deserved their half time advantage.

HALF-TIME : Northwich Vics 1 Selby Town 0

The second half started as the first ended with a few heavy tackles and the match failed to flow. However Vics won a corner in the 57th minute which was whipped into the near post where Ryan Jackson met it and powered his header into the net. This settled the game down and Vics took control and it wasn't long before they went three up. The ball was played forward quickly, the Selby defence made a hash of it and Niall Sultan raced through to tap home into an empty net to make the game safe. Vics were content to sit back and let Selby come onto them now, and catch Selby on the break. In the 73rd minute Ryan Jackson absolutely rinsed his full back but his cross let him down with Parker well placed in the middle. Selby fired wildly over a minute later but Jackson should have scored again in the 82nd minute as Sultan won the ball and raced towards the Selby box, he waited and waited before passing to the free Jackson who fired over the bar when faced with virtually an open net. Two minutes later, and it was Perry's turn to go close as he out muscled his defender, and was one on one with Burnett who pulled off a great stop to deny him. Vics were dominant now, and it was no surprise when in injury time, Vics got their fourth, and what a great move it was too.. A quick breakaway, Perry found Jackson who played the ball across to Parker who fired the ball low into the corner of the net.

FULL-TIME : Northwich Vics 4 Selby Town 0

An excellent performance from the Vics, some excellent goals and a clean sheet . The team is coming together nicely, and it was great to see Joe Camozzi back in a Vics' shirt, and also to see Matty Clarke return from his knee operation. Vics will now face Goole AFC away in the next round of the FA Vase on Sept 23rd

Assistant Manager Matt Barnes had this to say :

A complete performance from start to finish. the fans were unbelievable and fully deserved the victory. We were threatening every time we went forward and probably should have had another two goals at least. Now we focus on preparing right for the game on Monday and getting the 3 points to kick start our league campaign"

NEXT MATCH: LEAGUE : MONDAY 28th AUGUST home v LICHFIELD CITY 3.00pm kick off
SATURDAY 9th SEPTEMBER home v TIVIDALE 3.00pm kick off