By Liam Price
Cheshire derbies don’t get much tougher than the task at hand for the Dabbers on Saturday as we travel to 2nd place Congleton Town (3pm kick-off).
Un-bear-lievable Jeff
The numbers behind that intro are pretty incredible, especially for a promoted side. Congleton are unbeaten in their last 14 league games going back to October. They have the best home record in the league and are unbeaten in 9 at the Cleric Stadium. Only Hednesford have scored more goals than them. And they are only a point behind leaders Widnes although they have played a game more.
The last 2 seasons have been masterminded by Richard Duffy whose attacking and successful brand of football has marked him out as the standout manager in the league and is surely destined for bigger things. The way it’s going, in the short term that’ll be with the Bears in the NPL Premier.
Congleton also have 6 clean sheets in their last 9 games. Over Christmas and New Year they drew 1-1 at Trafford, beat City of Liverpool 5-1, won 3-0 at Kidsgrove and secured a vital 1-0 win over Chasetown in their last game.
Last Time We Met
At the end of September we met Congleton at the Swansway in Jon Moran’s first league game after being initially named Interim Manager. What a first game it was, with the Dabbers winning 3-2 after a topsy turvy game that was decided by a brilliant Gio Loureiro finish. Congleton have only lost twice in the league since that game nearly 4 months ago. Highlights below.
Players to Watch
Congleton striker Max McCarthy is the top scorer in the NPL West with 12, one ahead of our very own Kai Evans. Neither of them have scored yet in 2025 so will be looking to add to their numbers on Saturday.
Peter Williams and Dan Needham were the scorers for the Bears in the reverse game and are next up in their scoring charts with 9 and 11 goals in all competitions, respectively.
George Sankey scored back-to-back braces over the Christmas period to move up to 8 for the season. And we may even see Richard Duffy himself on the pitch, he’s made 15 appearances this season and got on the scoresheet on New Year’s Day.
Match Information
The Cleric Stadium (CW12 4GA) is just over a half hour’s drive away from Nantwich via the A500, a brief blast on the M6, then the A534.
Tickets are on the gate with cash or card, priced at £10 for adults, £7 for concessions, £3 for under 16s and under 10s go free.