By Jay Rowland

Less than 48 hours after a last-gasp equaliser from Abbey Hey snatched what looked to be a deserved three points from Sandbach, Declan Swan's side needed to put in a strong performance at one of the toughest grounds to visit in the NWCFL calendar; a trip up the mountains to New Mills.

The Ramblers welcomed AJ Kandeke, George West and Sean Sherwood back to the starting line-up.

A strong start from Sandbach saw a couple of promising attacks break down before a goal scoring chance could be created, whilst the home side looked to capitalise on their strength and pace with long balls over the top of the Sandbach defence whenever possible.

However, their opening goal was created not by a New Mills pass over the back line, but rather a defensive mistake from Sandbach.

In the 29th minute, an errant pass out of defence presented the ball to Raheem Hanley in acres of space. He shuffled forward under no pressure before taking a free shot at goal from 25 yards, with Joel Dovey powerless to prevent his strike from nestling in the corner.

The Millers doubled their advantage four minutes later as a cross went completely uncontested into the box. Dovey spilled the ball, and it was an orange shirt that reached it first, tapping home to put the home side two goals ahead.

Sandbach started the second half strongly, probing for a way back into the match. Will Booth, who was introduced at half-time, struck a free kick inches over the crossbar, with Millers keeper Dylan Forth grateful not to see the well-struck effort nestle into the top corner.

Despite the strong start from Sandbach, it was New Mills who extended their lead to 3-0 after ten minutes with their first dangerous attack of the second half.

After two failed clearances from Sandbach, the hosts took advantage of some poor marking to find an unmarked Teddy Osipitan 10 yards out. The finish was simple, and he stroked the ball into the back of the net.

The Ramblers pulled one back from the penalty spot on 67 minutes. A good pass from Dovey found Liam Fitzpatrick on the left flank.

He took on his man and beat him easily, before the recovering defender hauled him down in the area leaving the referee with no choice but to point to the spot.

Booth stepped up and lasered a penalty into the right-hand side of the net, sending Forth the wrong way and offering his side a lifeline.

Sandbach pressed relentlessly to try and bring themselves to within one goal of drawing level, whilst New Mills proved to be a real threat on the counterattack with their raking long passes consistently finding space behind the Sandbach defence.

It was indeed a counterattack that resulted in the Millers fourth goal in the 82nd minute. A pass over the top sent Osipitan away down the right, before his low cross was unfortunately turned in when Dovey's parry away from the goal struck Matty Russell, who could do nothing about it but watch the ball rebound into the back of the net.

As the full-time whistle blew, it was back to the drawing board for Swan and the rest of the Sandbach coaching team, as their side were well beaten on the day.

Swan said to us after the game "There were a few errors today which was frustrating. We had a couple chances near the end that could have reduced the deficit, but it was a deserved victory for them.

"You can't forget that New Mills were in the playoff final last year and narrowly lost out to Isle of Man, so we know this wasn't an easy place to come".

Swan also spoke on Sandbach's next fixture at home to Cheadle Heath Nomads. "It's good that we are back at home, we are still unbeaten at home, and we want to keep that going, hopefully turn [Hind Heath Road] into a bit of a fortress".

The Ramblers take on the Nomads on Saturday 3rd September at Sandbach Community Football Centre, CW11 3LZ.