By Brad Saxton | Images by Jonathan White
Ahead of Saturday, December 9th’s trip (3pm kick off) across to Cheshire, we take a look at our upcoming opponents, Nantwich Town.
Following relegation from the Northern Premier League last season, they have adjusted to life in the eighth-tier so far this year, as they currently sit 14th in the Northern Premier League Division One West table.
Following two defeats in their opening two games of the season, they bounced back to winning ways in their next two fixtures after securing wins over Vauxhall Motors (3-0) and Skelmersdale United (6-0).
Since then , they’ve secured a mix of results over the opening four months of the season, which has seen secure a comfortable place in the middle of the table, creating only a seven point gap between themselves and the playoff positions.
In this season’s Isuzu FA Trophy, Nantwich have already progressed through five rounds which sets up this weekend’s tie against the Minstermen. After entering the competition at the 1st Qualifying Round, wins against Liversedge (3-0) and Dunston UTS (2-1) saw them reach the 1st Round proper.
Since featuring in the 1st Round proper, Nantwich have progressed to the next round of the competition after playing out three successive 0-0 draws, during that time they’ve managed to win three successive penalty shoot-outs against Bradford (Park Avenue), Stratford Town and Chester FC.
Manager: Paul Carden
The Nantwich Town manager agreed a new two-year deal with the club in the summer after originally arriving at the club in February earlier this year.
After coming into the club, he unfortunately couldn’t keep the club up as they suffered relegation from the Northern Premier League on the final day of the season.
Carden enjoyed a successful playing career which saw him break through the youth set-up at Blackpool, before going on to spend time with Chester FC, Burton Albion and Cambridge United to name a few, before ending his career with Luton Town in 2012.
Since stepping into management, Carden has spent time managing Southport, Warrington Town and AFC Telford prior to his role at Nantwich. He has also spent time as Cambridge United’s caretaker manager on two occasions, and once at Tranmere Rovers when they was in the National League.
One to Watch: Kai Evans
The young midfielder joined Nantwich Town on a permanent deal in the summer following his exit from newly-promoted League Two side Wrexham.
The 19-year-old box-to-box midfielder originally started out at Stoke City, but he signed a professional deal with Wrexham in 2021, before going on to make a couple of competitive appearances for the Red Dragons.
As a player who likes to get forward and score goals, Evans finished as Wrexham’s top scorer in the National League Youth Alliance league during the 2021/22 campaign.
