By Liam Price, photo by Jonathan White
The Dabbers face Newcastle Town on Saturday (3pm kick-off) as Nantwich try to build back some momentum.
New Calendar for Newcastle
The bad weather at the start of 2026 has seemed to hit Newcastle Town harder than most in the NPL West. Since the start of February they have only played 3 games due to postponements.
After beating Sporting Khalsa on 3rd February they then didn’t play for 18 days, drawing 1-1 with Stafford. There was then a gap of 13 days until their most recent game, where they beat Chasetown 1-0 in midweek.
Despite all the rescheduling they have been able to maintain an excellent run of form that has seen them build a gap to the relegation zone. They are unbeaten in 7 games and have not conceded more than 1 goal in any of those games, with them often winning by one goal. They’ve scored the fewest goals of any team in the league, but only 3 teams have conceded fewer as well.
They now have a 5 point buffer to the bottom 4 and have at least 1 game in hand on all the teams below them. And all this under temporary stewardship as their manager Neil Baker continues to recover from his heart attack last year, which we continue to wish him the best with.
Last Time We Met
Newcastle scored 11% of their entire goal total this season in the reverse game against the Dabbers in October, winning 3-0. A grim Nantwich performance that kicked off a weeks-long slump that with hindsight probably killed the chances of the play-offs before we’d even reached 2026. Highlights below.
Players to Watch
Joel Jones has 11 league goals for the season, 2 of which came in that reverse game, and is their top scorer. He also scored the winner in the midweek win over Chasetown.
They only have 3 players who have scored 2 or more goals, the others being the wily veteran Tim Grice and Ethan Vale.
There are also a couple of former Dabbers in the squad such as Sean Lawton and recent addition Harry Bower who provides pace on the wing.
Match Information
Tickets are available online HERE or with card or cash on the gate.
Please be careful with parking and avoid parking on the road that leads into the housing estate next to the stadium as it causes bad traffic issues.
Dogs are allowed as long as they are kept on a lead.