With the confirmation this week of Ritchie Sutton and Gary Taylor-Fletcher as Dabbers new management team, the duo look to get their permanent spell off to a great start with the visit of Whitby Town.
At Their Whits’ End
Arguably the biggest story in the Northern Premier League this season has been the terrible start by Whitby Town. A team that finished 5 points outside the play-offs in 7th place last season have just 1 point from 7 games this season. It was a tough fixture list on paper, with FC United and Matlock among their early opponents. But they have only scored 3 goals in those 7 games, none in their last 3, and have conceded 15.
The final straw was a 6-0 thrashing by Gainsborough, leading to joint manager Lee Bullock resigning and Nathan Haslam taking sole charge. His first game ended in a 1-0 defeat to Marske in the FA Cup Second Qualifying Round last weekend.
Last Time Out
As part of that vital run of wins late last season, the Dabbers beat Whitby 1-0 at the Swansway Stadium in March, the only goal scored via the head of Joel Stair. Highlights from that day are available below.
Players to Watch
Of course, the biggest gap to fill for Whitby was that of top scorer Jacob Hazel, who secured a move to Darlington in the summer. The lack of goals suggests this hasn’t been resolved, but just this week Whitby have moved for striker Jake Day. Last season he was part of Scarborough’s play-off winning squad, scoring against the Dabbers in Yorkshire last November, before he moved to Matlock Town. For whatever reason, that hasn’t worked out and so after a couple of months he is a Whitby player and will be looking to get straight into the action on Saturday.
Match Information
Tickets are on sale here, or on the gate. Join us for the first game of the Sutton/Taylor-Fletcher era!