Defiant Dabbers still targetting win

The Dabbers, 4-2 down going into the second leg of their FA Trophy semi-final at The Shay, face an uphill task to overturn the National League's side advantage but their manager is sure they won't be short of spirit.

After hearing his Premier Division side being cheered on by a record-breaking crowd of 2,078 at The Weaver Stadium, smashing a previous best of 1,784 set back in 2008, Parkinson told TheFA.com that the battle to make it to Non-League's showpiece final at Wembley on Sunday 22 May to face either Bognor Regis Town or Grimsby Town is far from over.

The Dabbers boss said: “It was great to see so many at The Weaver for the first leg and I thought it was a great occasion. Hopefully we can give them something to celebrate at our place too.

“One thing anyone will tell you who has come up against us is that we don’t quit – we keep fighting and fighting and we will do that in the second leg.

"From our point of view, to concede four goals was a real shame and we felt a little unlucky to have done that. I’m not saying that Halifax were lucky to have won, far from it. I thought they showed us a lot of respect, put out a strong team and played well.

“But we were disappointed with the goals we conceded and then we showed great character to come back into the tie. At 4-1 down we looked dead and buried but we got a second and now they are only leading 2-0 effectively. And at 2-0 you are always wary and then at 2-1 you start to panic, so we are not dead and buried by any means."

* The Dabbers are inviting their fans to join them for a special celebration to reminisce about their famous FA Vase triumph of a decade ago.

Ahead of Saturday's FA Trophy clash, the Nantwich Town Independent Supporters Association announced they were organising a reunion at the Weaver Stadium to celebrate the 10th anniversary of their 3-1 win in 2006 win over Hillingdon Borough at Birmingham City's St Andrews, pictured.

NITSA vice-chairman and event organiser Ian Garnett said: “Nantwich Town winning the FA Vase was probably the biggest moment in the club’s history to date and the NTISA are delighted to be able to remember and celebrate the success of Steve Davis and his team’s triumph.

“Every Nantwich fan who witnessed the amazing success will have their own memories of that year as Nantwich wrote the club into Non-League football history and it’s great that we are able to come together and remember the success.

“I’ve spoken too many of the players who featured in the competition and a lot have said they are coming to the event so it will be a great chance to relive some memories. We are also hoping that the FA Vase itself will be attending the occasion. But we will have more news when we get it and make sure we keep the supporters updated.”

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