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Feeling confident after a win at home to Cheadle Nomads, Sandbach United travelled to a Stafford Town side who coincidentally also recorded a 3-0 home victory at the weekend after losing the game prior.

With identical form, and Sandbach fans remembering a 4-2 defeat at Evans Park last season, they knew it would be a very difficult test.

The game began at a tremendous tempo, with both sides energetically pressing to regain possession and surging forward at every opportunity.

The first real chance of the game fell to Sandbach in the 12th minute, after Ryan Rogers teased in a fantastic cross that evaded Joel Jones' head by mere millimetres.

Niall Cope started to display his passing ability to the crowd in attendance with several excellent threaded passes, one of which took five Stafford players out of the game to reach Stanley Tatters. His lay-off to Jones was struck fiercely on target but was parried by the goalkeeper Zak Noble.

Noble then began to keep his side in the game with a string of saves. Rogers first called him into action when he dealt with a curling effort, before then turning behind a Cope strike.

Things became harder for the home side in the 37th minute when Harvey Dangerfield, already booked for a late sliding challenge earlier, cut down Liam Fitzpatrick in the middle of the park with a heavy foul.

The referee immediately brandished a second yellow card and Stafford were down to 10 men.

Stafford somehow survived until half-time with the scores level, after more outstanding saves from Noble and a Jones shot being cleared off the line by Daniel Turton.

After an excellent start to the second half by Sandbach, it was Stafford who took the lead. Josh Oultram, after returning to the field following a sin bin, drove with the ball into the box from the right wing and saw his left footed shot deflect past George Brookes and trickle over the line for an opening goal.

Sandbach reacted positively and kept the home side penned in from the restart as they looked for an equaliser against the 10 men of Stafford.

However, soon that numerical advantage for the Ramblers was wiped off, as Harry Cain received a second yellow card for stopping a counterattack in the 68th minute, and it became a 10v10 battle.

Four minutes after the winger's dismissal, Sandbach were level. Booth, who had played excellently all game, strode forward with the ball at his feet before driving a low strike across the ground into the bottom left corner, beating the dive of Noble to see his side deservedly equalise after some outstanding play in the second half.

In another four minutes time, Booth produced a moment of pure magic to put his side in front. After taking down an aerial ball with an exquisite first touch, he shifted it onto his right foot before curling an outrageous shot over the goalkeeper before nestling in the top right corner.

The Sandbach travelling support, who had roared their team on all game, were as jubilant as the players crowding Booth in celebration.

It was then Stafford's turn to hunt for an equaliser, as the hardworking pair of Oultram and Kieron Miller epitomised their team's workmanlike performance, pressing relentlessly to carve out an opportunity.

Sandbach almost put the game out of sight on 86 minutes when Jones hit a left-footed shot on target, but Noble once again was equal to it.

Shortly after, the red card was out again, but this time for a member of Stafford's coaching team after a disagreement with the referee in the dugout.

Stafford tried desperately to find an equaliser in the seven minutes played of added time, but Sandbach's defence were resolute and firm to manage the game well for all three points.

After the game, manager Declan Swan said: "It had everything didn't it! Sin bins, red cards for both teams, goals for both teams, fast paced football, it was just a really good game.

"We dominated it, especially after their red card, it looked like only a matter of time before we were going to score but then we went behind then it went to 10v10. Then, you talk about resilience and keeping their head up, that's what the lads did and when you have a player like Will Booth in your team, that can be the difference".

Sandbach now turn their attention to another away fixture, this time travelling to 9th-placed Eccleshall on Saturday (September 10th).