PENS ARE PART FOR THE COURSE
FA VASE SEMI-FINAL DRAW Congleton T v Newport Pagnell Corsham Town v Ascot United
GOALKEEPER Dave Parton is confident he can be Congleton Town’s hero again and finally end Newport Pagnell Town’s hopes of a second straight Wembley visit.
Parton pulled off a crucial save from Bury AFC’s Harry Brazel in their tense FA Vase quarter-final penalty shootout to help take the Bears into the semis for the first time in their history.
Saturday’s visitors Newport enjoyed a memorable day out at Wembley last May when they swept aside Littlehampton Town 3-0 to lift the famous trophy under the arch.
And the Gods look to be shining on the Swans once again this time round having already come through two nerve-jangling penalty shootouts to reach the last four in their title defence.
Knowledge
Standing in their way, on Saturady, however, is Parton who is no stranger to 12-yard shootouts himself having negotiated three in a single season for the Bears back in 2020.
And the stopper is confident he will be on the spot again, if called upon, to steer his team to a dream trip to Wembley
“I always feel confident about penalties but, at the end of the day it is a lottery, what will be, will be,” Parton told The NLP. “It’s luck of the draw really. I do not really look into it too much, I just try and see something in their run-up and hopefully I can guess the right way.
“I have a decent record at penalties and, if it comes to that, yeah I feel quite confident that I can save one or two for the lads and, it’s their chance to pop it away.”
“Newport are going to be coming in as heavy favourites. They have a bit of knowledge of these rounds having been here last year.
“However, we have been decent at home this year, we’ve got great backing this season. We fancy our chances because at this stage anything can happen. We will be confident but, know we have a tough test ahead.”
While Newport Pagnell are seeking a second trip to the home of English football inside 12 months, Congleton are looking to grace the hallowed turf for the first time ever.
Dreaming
It’s got the whole of South Cheshire dreaming and Parton admits it’s been difficult to focus his mind on anything else.
“I think it would be impossible not to think about getting there but, we know it’s going to be a tough 90 minutes,” he added. “It feels like every game at the minute is a tough ninety minutes and, we can’t relax for any of it. But, it’s impossible not to think about Wembley.
“I think everyone in Congleton, everyone involved with the team, is thinking about it, I know I am. But, we’re not taking anything for granted as I said Newport Pagnell are a decent team, they’ve been here before.
“They are coming in as favourites I would say. So, it is a big task ahead but, we did in the last round against Bury who were favourites, and we managed to turn them over so there is no reason we can’t do it again.”