Dave Parton of Congleton Town has been presented with the Reusch Goalkeeper of the Month award for January 2023.
League Ambassador John Reid presented the award to Dave at a recent home game.
This is what was said about him when the announcement was made.
PREMIER DIVISION - DAVE PARTON (CONGLETON TOWN)
Despite Congleton Town in general faltering in their standards set in the month before, Dave Parton continued to show what an excellent ‘keeper he is. He played in four of the five games that Congleton played, two cup ties and two league games. He conceded goals in just one of those games against Padiham and in the other three he kept clean sheets.
Starting with the Cheshire Senior Cup tie against a confident Stockport Town, Dave made much of his work that evening look routine. That belied the difficult weather conditions that evening with frequent squally showers and a blustery wind. Concentration is a key to good goalkeeping and he certainly showed that with good anticipation when Stockport broke through and safe handling of crosses in open play and set piece situations.
In the important FA Vase 4th round tie at home to Pinchbeck United, the Bears enjoyed much of the play but despite the scoreline, Dave had several opportunities to show his class. On 30 minutes with the score 0-0 he blocked a goal bound shot and with the score 4-0 and 15 minutes left he pulled off a stunning save from Pinchbeck’s Williams as he tipped a way a shot heading for the top corner. There was still time for him to deny Wier-Daley to see a chance saved when he had just Dave to beat.
The Bears loss of league form started with the visit of Padiham who were much the better side throughout the game. Padiham were the first team in the month to beat Dave in goal and it took a special finish as they stole the ball off the defence to send a screamer into the top corner. The second came when a good build up presented a clear shot at goal which Dave blocked but was helpless when the rebound was put away. Other than that, he was equal to all other efforts on goal.
Finally, a stiff test against third placed AVRO required Dave to be at his very best. Again, the visitors had the better chances and Dave had to deny ex-Bear McCarthy early in the match. AVRO’s Abadaki broke down the right, but Dave timed his advance well to block the final shot. The same AVRO player was denied later in the match by another fine save by Parton. All this accompanied by safe handling and good positional play to make other efforts look routine.
Well done Dave!
