Sheppard’s treble secures an impressive Daisy win on road

Two first-half strikes from Sheppard were cancelled out by goals from Squires Gate’s Christian Edokpayi and Ivanilson Da Silva before half time.

But with just two minutes remaining, Sheppard completed his treble to seal a win for a youthful Daisy side that delighted manager Nicky Hunt.

“From start to finish, I thought we were exceptional,” said Hunt.

“We just epitomised what my teams are all about, showing energy, and it was a gutsy performance.

“I said before the game to the players, you’re going to have to do something quite special here because Squires Gate don’t get beaten at home very often.

“They are going for promotion, they’re a good team, very direct, but they’re good at what they do.

“I talked about game management in the previous weeks and we did that to a man today. The message at half time was do exactly what you did in the first half, and you’ll win the game of football, and ultimately it happened.

“It was really pleasing for such a young side to put it on a team that’s chasing promotion, and we’ve proved that we are a really good team on our day, and obviously with Liam Sheppard up top, another hat-trick from him today, he’s on top form.

“It’s all about momentum in this league. Squires Gate have had a really good couple of runs throughout the season, and we’re starting to gain a bit more momentum at a crucial time of the season.

“We’ll all enjoy today, and we go on next week and see if we can get another three points”.

A reshaped Daisy side with four players making their first starting appearance for the club started the game well, and they created the first chance of the game in the 10th minute, when Sheppard raced down the right and fired in a shot that the Squires Gate keeper Alex McLauchlin tipped round the post.

Seven minutes later, Daisy had a let off when Squires Gate’s leading scorer Dean Ing rounded keeper Jude Smith and got a shot in on goal that was cleared off the line.

But the game burst into life with three goals in four minutes across the half-hour mark.

Daisy opened the scoring when a neat pass from Harry Forshaw played Sheppard through on goal down the right, and he smashed the ball past the keeper to break the deadlock.

Within two minutes Squires Gate were level, when a free-kick from Jacob Lever fell to Edokpayi at the back post who side-footed home.

But 90 seconds later a collision between two Squires Gate players going for the ball gave Sheppard a free run in on goal, and he buried a shot across the keeper into the far corner to restore Daisy’s lead.

Three minutes later, Sheppard came close to claiming his hat-trick, when Forshaw and Joleon Moore combined to set up a chance, but the striker’s effort was deflected to safety.

A minute before half time, Squires Gate drew level for the second time when a through ball found Da Silva on the right-hand side of the box, and his shot found its way into the back of the net off the foot of a Daisy defender.

After the break, the game took a while to fire back into life, with both sides enjoying a share of possession without either keeper being seriously troubled.

At the midway point of the half, a long clearance from Smith landed on the edge of the Squires Gate box, and Moore evaded a challenge to get an effort on goal that drifted wide.

A minute later at the other end, Saad Mekkaoui-Abouzaid was denied by a good close-range block from Smith after a lovely ball over the top from Scott Harries had evaded the Daisy back line.

But just as the game seemed to be drifting towards a share of the points, Sheppard bagged the winner for Daisy two minutes from time.

A move down the left led to Fionn Murphy crossing to the right-hand side of the penalty area, and when the ball fell to Sheppard on the edge of the box, he picked his spot with a well-controlled shot into the far corner to complete his hat-trick.

Daisy are back in action in the North West Counties League First Division North on Saturday, when they host MSB Woolton at the Ginge Power Stadium.