By Liam Price, photo by Jonathan White
The start of a new era for Nantwich Town comes on Saturday (3pm kick-off), as Luke Goddard takes charge of the Dabbers for the first time in a match against Stalybridge Celtic.
The New Boss
Luke Goddard’s connection to Nantwich goes back a long way. As well as it being his hometown club, he played in the Dabbers youth system after being released by Stoke at 15 years old. He was also present at Birmingham’s St. Andrews for the greatest day in Nantwich Town’s history as we won the FA Vase in 2006.
In his managerial career he has already got 500 games under his belt with clubs from the local area. After doing well as a player and coach at Crewe FC, in 2016 he became manager at Whitchurch Alport. Across 7 years there he achieved great success with a lot of homegrown players, including a run to the quarter-finals of the FA Vase. At Alsager Town, he combined with Lee Duckworth and their success there caught the attention of Northwich Victoria. After 15 months there, he left the Trickies top of the Midlands Premier League and in a good position to potentially join Nantwich in the NPL system next season.
And the connection with the Dabbers doesn’t just stop at football. In his work outside the game, he was heavily involved in the construction of our Green Rock Group Fan Zone that has been warmly received by both home and visiting supporters since it opened. So he’s helped to build the club, now he’ll help to build the team.
Stable Stalybridge
Stalybridge’s win over the Dabbers in the reverse game in December was part of a run of 5 wins in 8 league games that has taken them into the play-offs. Since Nantwich they have beaten Stafford, Atherton and Kidsgrove, those last 2 coming in their last 2 games.
Their games certainly don’t lack for goals. Since the start of December, they’ve had three 3-2 wins, a 4-4 draw and a 6-2 defeat. Those last 2 results were against fellow promotion chasers Vauxhall and Bury, so they’ll be hoping to not drop too many more points against those sort of teams to secure their play-off spot come April.
No side has won more games at home in the NPL West than Stalybridge with 10. Their away record is serviceable but they have lost more games away from home than anyone else in the top 9.
This is a match up between the 2 sides that have drawn the fewest matches of anyone is this division, so knowing how football goes it will probably end up all square!
Last Time We Met
As mentioned it was only recently that the Dabbers travelled to Bower Fold, with the home side winning 3-2 in December. Highlights below.
Players to Watch
Both Ruben Jerome and Andy Scarisbrick have scored in Stalybridge’s last 2 games, with Scarisbrick grabbing a 95th minute winner in Celtic’s last game against Kidsgrove. Jerome scored in that reverse fixture against the Dabbers.
It’s a solid and settled team, with familiar names like captain Liam Tongue, ex Dabber Mike Koral, and forward Max Leonard all regular starters and contributors to their successful season so far.
Match Information
The annual re-enactment of the Battle of Nantwich coincides with the main run up to this game. The town will be extremely busy and car parking will likely be at a premium. We’d advise making more time to get to the game. And if you hear any cannons going off, don’t worry, we’re not under attack.
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. We say this before every home game but it may be more relevant on Saturday with what we mentioned above.
Tickets are available online HERE or on the gate with cash or card.
Dogs are allowed as long as they are kept on a lead.