Match Preview: Nantwich Town v Congleton Town

The oldest cup competition in the world rolls back into Nantwich once again as we get ready to face Cheshire rivals Congleton Town at the Swansway Stadium in the FA Cup First Round Qualifying.

Up the Dab-Bears

Congleton of Step 5 have already had to come through two rounds to get here, beating Abbey Hey in the Extra Preliminary Round, then upsetting Bootle 4-1 in a replay, featuring a freakish goal from a penalty that has to be seen to be believed (see tweet below).

In the league, they sit 7th after 6 games, winning 3 and losing 2. That means it’s a gap of 28 places in the league pyramid that the Bears will be looking to overcome.

Last Time Out

Of all the ties in the First Round Qualifying, only two feature teams that have met in the FA Cup 4 times previously, and one of those is Nantwich v Congleton.

In any competition, we haven’t met since the 2006/07 season, and in the FA Cup you have to go back to 1992, when the Dabbers triumphed 2-1 in a replay.

In the famous old competition, we have also played each other in 1936, 1951 and 1955, and it’s 2 wins each across those four previous cup meetings. (Thanks to FA Cup Factfile and Retro Dabbers for these stats).

Players to Watch

Tom Pope is back in Cheshire. And he’s still banging in the goals at 36, 26 in 56 appearances for Congleton since signing for them in 2021, 6 in 7 in all competitions this season. A professional nuisance, he will be sure to want to use his 6ft 3 frame to put the Dabbers defence under pressure. Daniel Needham is another goal threat to keep an eye on.

Match Information

Tickets are available online here, on can be bought on the gate, and are £1 cheaper than for a league game. It’s a huge day for the town, with the Food and Drink Festival also underway, and that should be taken into account when travelling to the game, as traffic and parking could be more difficult than usual. Stay tuned to our social media feeds for any updates on this and other things around the match.