Great Harwood 2 Nantwich Town 3

NON-LEAGUE: HARWOOD slumped to a fourth straight defeat in the FNWTL First Division despite mounting a stirring fightback at The Showground.

Trailing 3-0 with just 19 minutes left, Martin Aspinwall and Neil Otley then struck in the last 10 minutes to spark hopes of a comeback.

But it proved too little, too late for Denis Underwood's men who look like they cannot wait for the season to end.

The visitors got off to a flyer when McVey set off on a scintillating 60 yard run before thundering a shot past Lee Kennedy on 21 minutes.

And Paul Cuddy's men looked to be strolling to victory when Jason Anthony doubled their advantage two minutes before the break with a free header.

Graham Lightbown, Clive Dunn and Gary Butcher all missed chances for Harwood before Nantwich's leading scorer Andy Gayle seemed to have wrapped things up when he intercepted Warren Peake's weak back pass to slot home the third on 71 minutes.

But the Reds showed their fighting qualities as Aspinwall pulled one back with a typically opportunist strike eight minutes from time.

And Otley slashed the deficit even further by snapping up a second two minutes from the end.

Dunn and Butcher both wasted late chances to snatch a point but the visitors held on to condemn the Reds to another demoralising defeat.

Harwood are in action again tonight when Atherton Collieries visit The Showground for a FNWTL First Division fixture.