Peter Wilson reports on VICS' first defeat of the season:

 Hucknall Town 3 ( Groves 3 10 57)
Vics 2 (Mayman 44 Allan 70 pen)

Hucknall Town are proving to be Vics "bogey side" and today they not only ended Vics winning sequence and unbeaten record but knocked them from their perch at the top of the table and full credit to them for their zeal and commitment. Yet, without taking anything away from Hucknall, this was a very indisciplined display from the Northwich players and they were guilty of too frequently being distracted from their main focus when events went against them.
And things began to go against them from the very earliest of moments. An inopportune stumble by McCarthy allowed Rowland to continue his run toward goal and from his cross GROVES was left completely unmarked at the far post to score with a header to give his team a dream 3rd minute lead. Brayson had a shot saved before Gill broke to hit a 20 yard shot which swerved visciously to pull a full length save from Rogers. Charnock was the first of many to be shown a yellow card and then Gill had a point blank header parried by Rogers and then scrambled away by the keeper only for Gill to pull a pass across goal to the again unmarked GROVES to add a second. Brayson  was looking the best bet for bringing Vics back into the game but, after he had one shot blocked by Asher and went close with a free kick, their troubles deepened when Brayson limped from play in the 25th minute to be replaced by Sale. Sale quickly got into the thick of things and knocked a header down for Allan but he shot weakly straight at Lindley. Roca turned his marker cleverly to shoot narrowly wide of the post and then Battersby did well to get to the byline and set up a golden opportunity for Mayman but he blasted his shot from 10 yards high over the bar. And just as Vics appeared to be gaining a foothold on the game Sale took "getting into the thick of things" almost literally and was red carded for aiming a kick at an opponent. Reduced to ten men and trailing by two goals the situation looked bleak until MAYMAN cut inside from the right to unleash an unstoppable left foot shot into the top corner of the net and provide Vics with a lifeline just before half time.
Twelve minutes after the restart and Vics' task once again took on daunting proportions. Rogers had done well to turn a 30 yard shot around the post but, under pressure from surrounding home players, he dropped the Palmer corner kick leaving GROVES to complete his hat trick and score from 6 yards. Chapman joined Charnock and Allan into the referee's notebook for more pointless dissent and he was quickly replaced by Payne while Byrne came on for Roca. Byrne quickly got into the action and did well to cut inside the box and cross for Carr to head wide. Rogers had to be on his toes to keep out a near post Gill header before ALLAN  was given the opportunity to grab a further lifeline following a hand ball in the box and he duly obliged from the spot kick. Tempers again flared with 15 minutes left and Palmer and Carr escaped with a yellow card each after they had to be restrained by a number of their colleagues. Allan set Byrne away but he lifted a shot high over the bar and a late shot from Battersby suffered the same fate. But any late consulation would have been more than they deserved on a day when their record and table leadership were relinquished in an uncharicteristically unprofessional manner. 


Pete Wilson