Peter Wilson reports on VICS drawn game with Moor Green

The concession of yet another early goal set the pattern for a struggle that Vics never really got to grips with leaving their fans with little compensation for braving a bitterly cold afternoon.
Once again levels of concentration were called into question in the Vics defence  when Gary McPHEE was left completely unmarked to convert a Middleton cross inside the opening 60 seconds of the game. And to be truthful, despite having the greater possesion for the remainder of the half, they showed little aptitude toward retrieving the situation and instead Faulds had a shot turned around his post by Rogers. Charnock might have equalised but he directed a header wide of a gaping goal from a Elliott free kick. But , for much of the time, the fayre on view was very mediocre until Handyside ventured forward to beat two men and have a goal bound shot blocked. And so when Vics grabbed an equaliser just before the break it was greeted with both an air of relief and of expectancy that they would go on to win the game. Stuart ELLIOTT  had collected the ball some 35 yards from goal and looked up to send a precision strike out of reach of the despairing Crane and into the top corner of the net.
However the Vics fans premature expectancies were soon exposed with Moor Green's Penny heading a corner kick wide when he should have scored. Allan cycle kicked a Battersby corner wide to temporarily raise aspirations but otherwise Steve Burr's men seemed devoid of inspiration on the day. And it could have been the visitors who grabbed an unlikely winner when Faulds got the better of Chapman inside the box only to lift his shot over an inviting target. Northwich traditionally persevered and Payne was unfortunate to see a late header blocked on the goal line before Faulds wasted a final opportunity for Moor Green by heading over the bar from close range to leave the spoils appropriately even.

Attend: 773
Man of the Match: Peter Handyside