Market Drayton hand out festive gifts

They were all scored in a eight-minute spell of generosity a harassed Town outfit could not afford against opponents already brimming with confidence having lost only one of their previous 15 games, writes Terry Morris.

A midweek 2-0 victory over Warrington had also made Rammys the last remaining Evo-Stik NPL club in this season’s FA Trophy, with a money-making home tie to come against Weymouth.

So, looking smarter and slicker from the off, they hardly needed the 37th-minute helping hand Town extended via Desean Martin, their best performer up to that point and arguably on the day too.

Under pressure by Ruben Jerome, Martin nodded an intended safety header over his own advancing keeper, Mason Springthorpe, into the net.

Five minutes later, Town’s defence was completely wrong-footed by another misdirected header, this time from Paul McMullen, leaving the luckless Springthorpe confronting two completely unmarked forwards inside his own six-yard box, Jerome being the one to score. More generosity quickly followed and central defender Luke Thompson headed in a third.

Town’s goodwill ran out in the second half, when a radical reshuffle of both flanks by manager Martyn Davies curbed Ramsbottom’s attacks and earned Drayton a couple of chances down the middle.

One such brought their deserved 81st-minute consolation goal, Glynn Coney clipping home a penalty awarded when the ever-willing Martin had been shoved by Ryan Ellerson.

Martin actually got the ball in the net anyway. But both he and Ellerson lost out as referee Tom Elliott insisted on the penalty and then red-carded the defender.