By Liam Price, photo by Jonathan White
The Dabbers head to what in the past couple of years has been a bit of a bogey ground in Trafford FC on Saturday (3pm kick-off).
Traff Luck
Trafford’s stumbling start to the season has unexpectedly continued since we faced them last (more on that below). In the 9 games they’ve played since the FA Cup tie between the sides, Trafford have won only 1, but that was a big win, 4-1 over Sporting Khalsa at the start of this month. That remains their only league win of the season so far.
In other recent games, they lost 1-0 at home to Bury, drew away at Mossley and lost 2-0 away at the continually impressive Lower Breck in midweek. Incidentally, that game was on Wednesday night, just like the Dabbers’, so there’ll be no fitness advantage for either side from that.
It’s still early days, but only Wythenshawe Town have conceded more goals than Trafford in the NPL West so far. They are bottom of the table and 6 points adrift from safety. Also not in their favour is the fact that they have played more games than all of the teams immediately above them.
Last Time We Met
As mentioned, we were drawn at home to Trafford in the FA Cup Second Qualifying Round last month. The Dabbers came out comfortable 3-1 winners thanks to 2 goals from Alex Panter and 1 from Paddy Kennedy. Highlights below.
But away to Trafford in the league it’s been a different story. The last 2 trips to Shawe View have both seen 2-1 defeats for the Dabbers. Last season’s highlight was Alex Panter’s first goal for the club, and he’s been going from strength to strength since then, especially this season.
Players to Watch
He was highlighted in the previous game and will be here; it’s former Dabber Campbell Reid. A prolific scorer in the Nantwich youth system, this is his first full season in senior football and it should only be a matter of time before the goals start flowing for him.
A signing since the Cup tie has been Tom Lawrence. A former Chester forward signed at the start of the month, he marked his debut the very next day with 2 goals against Sporting Khalsa.
Match Information
Tickets are £10 for adults, £6 for concessions, and £2 for juniors, however kids can come in for free with a paying adult.
It’s roughly an hour’s drive to the Away Day Care Shawe View Stadium to give it its full name. M6, M56 and M60 the route of least resistance provided it stays traffic free.