Clitheroe earned a hard fought three points on a cold Tuesday evening at the Loom Loft Stadium against a Nantwich side who were riding high on the back of their win away at Chasetown last weekend.

It was a dull start with little action in the opening 20 minutes with both sides offering no real attacking threat.

The game sparked into life shortly after with Zac Hadi expertly using his feet to deny a powerful driven header from Alex Panter in the 24th minute.

Clitheroe retaliated by taking the lead in the 29th minute when a Lewis Trickett cross found Harry Scarborough at the near post who beat his man and fired his shot into the top corner beyond Benjamin Garratt.

Nantwich hit back in the 39th minute after Byron Harrison and Panter linked up to see the latter drill his low effort into the bottom corner, beyond the reach of Hadi.

Half Time: Clitheroe 1-1 Nantwich Town

Nantwich started the second half on the front foot with an early chance falling to Curtis Moore but his deflected shot was saved comfortably by Hadi.

The Blues grew into the half and came frustratingly close in the 79th minute as Kaleb Parkinson cut the ball back to an unmarked Josh Briggs in the area. However, Patrick Kennedy did well to get his body on the line to deny a certain goal.

After a sustained spell of pressure, Sean McConville’s men finally regained the lead in the 80th minute after Parkinson laid off Jordan Windass just inside the box before unleashing an unstoppable shot into the bottom left corner.

The visitors almost denied Clitheroe the win late on as Jordan Hodkin had a golden opportunity to score but he blasted his effort well wide of the post.

Full Time: Clitheroe 2-1 Nantwich Town

This victory has the Blues picking up their first league win since the middle of January and sees them moving up to 13th in the league. They will look to build on this performance with another home game against Darlaston Town on Saturday, February 21.