By Liam Price, photo by Jonathan White
If the weather holds out, the Dabbers will finally head to Clitheroe tomorrow (7.45pm kick-off) in a game that was originally supposed to be played in the middle of December.
Clith-ing La Vida Loca
First a mention for Clitheroe’s spectacular FA Trophy run. It strangely echoed the Dabbers’ run from 2 seasons ago; after beating 2 NPL West teams and 2 NPL Premier teams they then played Chester and won, then played York City and won, just like Nantwich. Eventually the run ended away at a National League team that starts with S, for Solihull for Nantwich read Scunthorpe for Clitheroe.
Naturally a run like that is going to cause some fixture congestion and that can have an effect on league form. They seem to be in that kind of rut at the moment as they have not won in their last 5 matches. But the caveats to that are 4 of those games have been away from home and some of them have been against real play off contenders such as when they’ve lost to Vauxhall and Avro and drawn away at Stalybridge last time out.
All of that has left them 14th in the NPL West but with a game or 2 still in hand on a lot of teams above them. And 4 of their next 5 games are at home so they’ll be looking to find some form and climb into the top half at least.
Last Time We Met
Goals from Fenton Green, Alex Panter and Byron Harrison helped the Dabbers to a 3-2 win at the Swansway in October.
Players to Watch
Josh Briggs, Leon Creech and Harry Scarborough have all been among the goals recently for Clitheroe.
Veron Parny and Luke Gill scored in the reverse game and are both still very much part of their setup.
Match Information
It’s been a tough time for any natural grass pitch with the relentless rain and cold weather so stay tuned for any news on inspections etc.
Tickets are £11 for adults, £7 for concessions and £5 for 14-17 (U14s free with paying adult). You can get them online HERE or on the gate