By Liam Price
Not much on the line other than pride on Saturday (3pm kick-off) as the solidly mid-table Dabbers take on already relegated Hanley at the Swansway.
The Han That Rocks the Cradle
Hanley’s relegation was confirmed after a 2-0 defeat to Widnes on 22nd March. Since then, they have won 2-1 away at fellow relegation strugglers Wythenshawe and lost 1-0 at home to Congleton last Saturday.
Their home form has been abysmal and has made the biggest contribution to their relegation; 16 defeats from 19 games is worse than City of Liverpool. Away from home has been better for them, 3 wins, 8 draws and 8 defeats. The Dabbers have lost 10 games away from home, for comparison. But it’s been nowhere near enough and they will almost certainly finish second bottom of the NPL West.
They’ve also scored the fewest goals in the league, with 35 from 38 games. So it all adds to an interesting watermark for where Nantwich really are at the moment, as there are 2 stand-out stats that, in an ideal world, will be rectified on Saturday. The Dabbers have not won at home since New Year’s Day, and have not kept a clean sheet since 23rd November, 20 games ago.
Last Time We Met
We go all the way back to August for the reverse game, which was the Dabbers’ first win of the season with a 3-1 victory in Staffordshire. To show how much things can change in a season at this level, two of the goalscorers were Cole Lonsdale and Gio Loureiro and the manager was Paul Carden. Highlights below.
Players to Watch
A plethora of well-known former Dabbers may well line up for Hanley on Saturday. Sean Lawton, AJ Leitch-Smith, Joel and Theo Stair and Sean Cooke all played in their last game. Cooke has been busy, recently duel reg-ing with Sandbach United to help their play-off push.
Joel Stair is Hanley’s joint top scorer with 6 goals, which perhaps says a lot about the situation they’ve found themselves in this season. What you would say about most or all of those names is they are too good for Step 5 Midland Premier League football, so it will be interesting to see what happens to them in the summer.
Match Information
Tickets for this one are available HERE, or on the gate. It is £1 cheaper to buy online for each category than it is on the gate.
Dogs are allowed as long as they are kept on a lead.
Please use the parking provided. If you have to park on the street then please be respectful to local residents.
Pre-order half-time drinks at the bar before the game to avoid the queues!