ALL good things must come to an end.
Blues' last defeat in the league was on the first day of the season way back on August 16, and that run had to end at some point.
The pity was that this was a game they dominated from start to finish but they were let down by their inability to get the ball in the net - indeed, Nelson made only three serious attacks but managed to score from two of them.
Winsford seemed to have adopted a strategy of taking pot shots from anywhere within 35 yards of the goal, which would have been fine had they been able to get the ball on target. Unfortunately, they rarely did and once or twice caused problems for Nelson goalkeeper Billy Carrington.
As early as the second minute, Neil Harrison tried a shot from distance but it was too weak to cause problems for Carrington. Mark Quinn and Ian Givin were also attempting long-distance shots in the first half.
However, the best chance of the period fell to Jamie Williams when he met Dave Turner's centre, but his header went over the bar. Stuart Wellstead was having a quiet afternoon but his run and shot in the 43rd minute was spec-tacularly tipped over the bar.
Most of the Nelson attacks in the first half were long balls over the top and they were all too often caught offside. It looked like they were only going to score if the Blues defence lost their composure and the home side didn't heed the warning, because that's exactly what happened in the second half. A poor free-kick put Steven Whitehouse in the clear and he took the ball forward before shooting under debutant goal-keeper Barry Crellin.
The Blues were still relying mainly on shots from distance and numerous second-half attacks were let down by poor finishing. Whittaker broke free again on 70 minutes, but this time Crellin came out to save bravely at his feet. Chris Hutchinson came on after 74 minutes and his long throws caused problems, the best chance falling to Quinn, but he shot over the bar from a good position.
It was game over on 85 minutes when Blues lost the ball under no pressure and Whittaker doubled his tally from the edge of the area.
Winsford continued to press forward without really threatening the visitors' goal to slump to their first league loss in nearly two months. Winsford have the chance to find their goal touch again this evening when they entertain Middlewich Town in the Mid Cheshire Cup quarter-finals (7.45pm).
On Saturday, they entertain Ashton Town in the North West Counties Football League - kickoff at the Barton Stadium is 3pm.
