Stratford Town lose to Anstey Nomads in the FA Trophy

Stratford Town’s unbeaten run came to an abrupt end with a shock 4-0 loss in the FA Trophy at Anstey Nomads on Saturday.

The Bards had shown a noticeable rise in quality in recent fixtures but a poor display against a spirited Northern Premier League Midlands Division side brought their fine form to a grinding halt.

Stratford made a disastrous start, falling behind within eight minutes when a deflected shot fell kindly to Liam Murphy who powered a header past Jake Weaver to take the lead for the hosts.

Caught off guard by the early goal, Stratford struggled to find a meaningful response creating few clear cut chances and absorbing wave after wave of pressure from Anstey.

Having taken the early lead, Anstey sensed weakness in their stunned opposition and pushed for a second.

Tendai Chitiza was unfortunate not to double their lead when he rounded Weaver only for the Stratford goalkeeper to recover quickly and smother the ball.

Stratford’s start to the second half was no better than how they began the first.

Just three minutes after the restart, Murphy struck again by firing a low shot beyond Weaver and into the bottom right corner.

Anstey continued to dominate, forming numerous chances as Lewis Gibbens sent a header narrowly wide and Tristen Thomas fired a shot over the bar.

With the hosts’ sustained pressure and Stratford providing little in terms of resistance, Anstey’s persistence paid off as they deservedly extended their lead in the 63rd minute.

Murphy latched onto a long ball and sent an audacious chip over the onrushing Weaver to complete his hat-trick.

Stratford’s only real second half chance came in the 81st minute when Fin Brennan made a promising run down the flank and cut inside but his tame shot was easily saved.

The fourth and final goal of the fixture was a well worked move from the hosts as Chitiza met Murphy’s ball into the box and teed up Ronnie Kokkinos who worked some space before rifling his finish into the roof of the net.

Chances kept coming for Anstey and the demoralised Stratford defence remained under constant pressure as Lewis Ison cleared a shot off the line and Weaver produced a number of fine stops to prevent further damage.

The Bards will now have to pick themselves up ahead of their Saturday fixture at home to Real Bedford where they will be hoping to rediscover their recent league form.

Stratford Town: Weaver, Vann, Brennan, Roberts (George 56), Landers (Lafferty 15), Ison, Storer (Deacon 56), Masidi, Reilly, James (Bruce 56), Roney (Morris 67).