Match Preview: Nantwich Town FC Ladies v Chester FC Women

Chester FC Women return to action this weekend, following a prolonged break over the festive period, as they face an away trip to Nantwich Town FC Ladies in the Quarter Final of the Cheshire FA County Cup.

The Seals ended 2022 in great form recording back-to-back wins in all competitions for the first time since August and with eighteen goals scored in the process. Prior to these wins Chester had not won a league game for over three months, but now seem to be gathering a lot of momentum at the right time going into the second half of the season.

Sunday’s game hands Chester the opportunity to reach the semi-final of the Cheshire County Cup, but standing in the way of that is Cheshire Women’s Premier Division side Nantwich Town. The side currently sit rooted to the bottom of the Premier Division having just won two from a possible twelve games this season.

Despite this Nantwich have already knocked two sides out of the competition on their way to the Quarter Final with wins against Willaston FC Ladies and Egerton Football Club. Chester on the other hand have only faced one side in this year’s competition, a demolition 12-0 victory against AFC Stockport LIonesses in the previous round to set up this weekend's game.

STAT ATTACK

• A win for Chester this weekend would see them record three consecutive wins in all competitions for the first time this season.
• The Seals come into the game having scored 18 goals in their previous two games.
• Nantwich are currently on a seven game winless run stretching back to October.

Form Guide (Most Recent First)

Nantwich Town FC Ladies : LP*LLP*

Chester FC Women : WWLLL

Martin Fitzsimons’ Thoughts

“We’ve all come back from Christmas in good spirits. Obviously, the challenge for us now is to continue our form post Christmas. The break came the wrong time for us, after two convincing wins and high level performances, we felt back to the standards we set ourselves.

We were left frustrated by not having a game again last weekend so the players an itching to go and prove we’re back to our best. The performances are the key to our success. If we play well, we’ll always give ourselves the best chance of winning any game. “