The first home and first midweek game of the new season sees the Dabbers host Hednesford Town on Tuesday night (7.45pm kick-off).
Hed-ing for promotion?
After escaping relegation only via reprieve due to another club in the 8th tier going out of business, Hednesford have not hesitated to significantly strengthen their squad to avoid that situation occurring again.
Several players who were playing one or even two levels higher last season have been brought in to mark them out as runaway favourites for the NPL West title.
They started with three points on Saturday at home against Vauxhall Motors, a bit tighter than they would have liked but they came out on top 3-2. A crowd of over 1,100 shows the excitement around the Pitmen at the moment and they are expected to be at the Swansway in large numbers too.
Last Time We Met
No-one of a Nantwich leaning will forget the last game between the two sides in a hurry. 4-3 and a last second Troy Bourne winner in April won the NTISA’s Golden Moment of the Season award. Highlights below.
In fact, there were 12 goals in the two fixtures between Nantwich and Hednesford last season, so by that measure it shouldn’t be a quiet game on Tuesday. Although usually when someone says that, it then finishes 0-0.
Only Jake Jervis remained from the squad that played against Nantwich on that day in April in their game against Vauxhall, in a clear demonstration of the overhaul that’s happened at Keys Park in a short space of time.
Players to Watch
All of their front 3 scored on Saturday. Manny Duku, who played in the National League last season, Dominic McHale, who played in National League North last season, and Zidan Sutherland who was Dover’s top scorer in National League South last season and scored a hat trick against Wrexham in pre-season. Oh, and they have the two best players from Leek’s title winning side last season (apart from Tom Reilly) in Dan Trickett-Smith and Rob Stevenson. And that’s just the forwards.
Match Information
Tickets are available online HERE or via cash/card on the gate. As mentioned, it’s expected to be busy so try and get to the Swansway in a reasonable time.
Please bear in mind the continued roadworks on Nantwich Road that divert traffic through Wistaston.