The Cheshire Senior Cup is back, and the Dabbers are up against new opponents in Cheadle Heath Nomads for a First Round away tie on Tuesday night (7.45pm kick-off).
Nomadsland
The struggles that the Dabbers have been facing in recent weeks are put in to stark perspective by Cheadle Heath’s season so far (with thanks to Retro Dabbers). They are 18th out of 20 teams in the North West Counties League Division One South (3 tiers below Nantwich) and have not won a single league game as yet, 6 draws and 8 defeats out of 14. This comes after a respectable 9th place finish in the same league last season.
They have also lost in their 3 previous cup ties this term, albeit 2 of those have been on penalties, coincidentally both to Eccleshall. Their last match was a 3-1 defeat to Sandbach United on Saturday.
Heath History
As this is the first time the 2 clubs have ever met, we can take the opportunity to look a bit further at Cheadle Heath’s past. Originally formed in 1919 and then eventually reverting to their original name after a merger with Linotype in 2004, Cheadle Heath Nomads won the Cheshire League Premier Division in 2015 and gained promotion to their current level in 2018.
They become the 82nd different side the Dabbers have faced in the Cheshire Senior Cup since we first entered it in 1884, with Crewe Alex, Congleton Town and Northwich Victoria the most frequent opponents over the centuries (credit to Retro Dabbers again).
It’s also the second club called ‘Nomads’ the Dabbers have faced this season, after Connah’s Quay in pre-season, surely an extremely rare if not unprecedented thing to happen in the same season for a single club in Britain.
Players to Watch
Joint top scorers for the Nomads so far are Jack Taylor and Daniel Byrnes, with Byrnes scoring in Cheadle Heath’s last 2 matches. He’d surely love to make that 3 in a row against higher league opposition on Tuesday night.
Match Information
The ProSeal Stadium (search for ‘Cheadle Heath Sports Club’ on Google Maps) is just off the A560 past Stockport Road.
Tickets for the match are on the gate only, priced at £6 for adults and £3 for concessions.