Match Preview :- AFC Telford - Saturday February 27th, 2016 (15:00:00)

On Saturday, Celtic face one of our bogey teams, AFC Telford United (kick off 3pm). Telford are currently scrapping for their life at the bottom of the league, eight places and ten points behind Celtic having played a game more. There will be a match centre for this game, weather permitting.

Telford have only once been out of the bottom three this season, after picking up just five points in their opening twelve matches. Their mini-revival started with a win over us, naturally, with two wins and two draws they got out of the bottom three, but were soon sucked back into it again. They have won just twice on the road all season, and with one draw, they have picked up seven points from a possible forty-two points. They have already done the double over FC United, with a combined score of 8-2, and we are a chance for them to do another double, and once again get out of the drop zone, as they are only three points from safety with a better goal difference over Corby.

Only Gloucester have scored less than Telford (twenty-seven to Telford's twenty-nine), but Gloucester have the second best defence in the league. Telford's defence isn't terrible – we've conceded eight more than them – so it is the average of less than a goal a game that has been their undoing. They score 0.6 goals per game on the road, slightly better than a goal every other game. They have failed to score in eight of their fourteen away games, and have only kept one clean sheet, their 1-0 win over Stockport County in January. Their joint top scorers are Sean Clancy and Dave Hibbert, both of whom scored in their 2-0 win over us, earlier in the season.

Telford really are one of our bogey teams. The last time we beat them in the league at Bower Fold was in November 1994, when we won 1-0 whilst in the Conference National. The have visited nine times since, got six wins and three draws. The last league draw was in August 2008, when we drew 2-2 with Steve Torpey and Chris Williams scoring for Celtic either side of Andy Brown and Jon Adams. We also have a 1-1 draw here in the FA Trophy, which set up a replay at the Bucks Head. Celtic won that 2-1, Keith Briggs and Joe O'Neill putting us through. We followed that up with our last win in the league over them, in March 2010, when we won 1-0 at the Bucks Head. Our last competitive win over them was in the League Cup back in October 1996 when we won 3-1.

Telford will be looking for a win, not just to lift them off the bottom, but also to get one over on their former manager, Liam Watson. Josh Brizell has recently left the club after a cancellation of his contract, and Andy Pryce will be unavailable through suspension. In their last match, the 2-1 away loss to Solihull Moors, they lined up as:
1. Harry Burgoyne
2. Dwayne Samuels
3. Darren Campion
4. Lucas Dawson
5. Graham Hutchison
6. Curtis Tilt
7. Jordan Wynter
8. John Cofie
9. David Hibbert
10. Connor McCarthy
11. Jack Rea

Celtic will need to show some character after losing 5-0 away at Worcester City midweek. It's not the first time we've lost 5-0, AFC Fylde did the same, which we followed with a 3-1 win over Worcester. Hopefully the same can be true again. In the game at Worcester, we lined up as:
1. Tony McMillan
2. Peter Wylie
3. Danny Wisdom
4. Matty Hughes
5. Jack Higgins
6. Dale Wright
7. Bohan Dixon
8. Alex Mudimu
9. Adam Farrell
10. Steve Tames
11. Aaron Chalmers

With a full program on Saturday, Celtic need to do something that they have not done in twenty-two years: beat Telford in the league at Bower Fold, which could lift us one place. We are starting to fall away from the top ten spots, and while we are eight points clear of the drop zone, a loss on Saturday could see us drop to seventeenth.

Other games this weekend:
AFC Fylde (52pts 4th) v Alfreton Town (41pts 9th)
Boston United (51pts 6th) v Worcester City (35pts 15th)
Chorley (42pts 8th) v Lowestoft Town (33pts 17th)
Corby Town (29pts 19th) v Nuneaton Town (51pts 5th)
Curzon Ashton (39pts 11th) v Bradford Park Avenue (33pts 16th)
FC United of Manchester (32pts 18th) v North Ferriby United (54pts 3rd)
Harrogate Town (58pts 2nd) v Gloucester City (39pts 12th)
Hednesford Town (28pts 21st) v Brackley Town (28pts 20th)
Solihull Moors (62pts 1st) v Tamworth (45pts 7th)
Stockport County (38pts 13th) v Gainsborough Trinity (40pts 10th)

Match Sponsor
Brother UK
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0161 338 2828
Man of the Match Sponsor
Mike Cookson
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0161 338 2828