Match Preview :- Darlington - Saturday March 11th, 2017 (15:00:00)

On Saturday afternoon, Celtic host Darlington (kick off 3pm), pitch permitting. Darlington are currently seventh in the league on fifty-four points, fourteen places and thirty-nine points ahead of Celtic having played for games more. There will be a match centre and Twitter feed for this game.

This is the lowest Darlington have been this season, after pushing for top spot throughout September and October. Before November, their form was excellent, losing only twice (to Kidderminster and Alfreton), and getting eleven wins. Since November, although they have lost only six, they have only won four as well. With their last ten games seeing them win three, draw four and lose three. Away from home, they've drawn four of their last five games, though they did beat Boston 2-1 as well, meaning they are unbeaten away from home since January.

Darlington's top scorer this season is Mark Beck, whose fourteen goals put him joint fifth in the overall league scorers list. He is five clear of Terry Galbraith and Josh Gillies, both of whom have nine. They have scored seventy goals this season (thirty away) at a rate of 2.2 goals per game (1.9 away). They have conceded fifty-one goals this season (twenty-six away) at a rate of 1.6 goals per game. They have never kept a clean sheet away from home, though they have only failed to score once.

We've only played Darlington once before, earlier this season at Bishop Auckland's ground, when they won 4-1, with Andy Owens grabbing an early equaliser.

Darlington's most recent match saw them draw 2-2 away at Worcester City, with a stoppage time equaliser. In that match, they lined as:
1. Edward Wilczynski
2. Chris Hunter
3. David Ferguson
4. Josh Falkingham
5. Kevin Burgess
6. Gary Brown
7. Stephen Thompson
8. David Syers
9. Mark Beck
10. Liam Hardy
11. Josh Gillies

Celtic's last match was the scrappy 1-0 away defeat to Salford City three weeks ago. In that match, Celtic lined up as:
1. Grant Shenton
2. Danny Morton
3. Danny Wisdom
4. Matty Hughes
5. Fraser Horsfall
6. Aaron Chalmers
7. Kieran Dunbar
8. Gary Gee
9. Porya Ahmadi
10. Danny Wilkins
11. Danny Pilkington

Steve Burr has yet to manage a home league match since returning to the helm. It's been three weeks since Celtic lost away at Salford City, and nearly a month since we beat Salford City at Bower Fold. Although we've only played twice this year at Bower Fold, we did win both games. We now have three or four games in hand on the teams above us, and we are still fifteen/sixteen points behind. Winning our games in hand would leave us three points behind, with Alfreton and Bradford still to play. This season is far from over. Thanks to other results, our survival is almost back in our own hands. That said, a loss on Saturday could see Altrincham overtake us if they beat Boston away from home. Other matches to watch are Bradford hosting Halifax, Alfreton away at Kidderminster, Gainsborough hosting Fylde and Nuneaton hosting Worcester.

You can listen to Steve Burr's thoughts ahead of the game here: Burr Darlington Preview

You can listen to captain Matthew Hughes' thoughts ahead of the game here: Hughes Darlington Preview

Other matches this weekend:
Boston United (36pts 15th) v Altrincham (13pts 22nd) Brackley Town (52pts 9th) v Salford City (59pts 2nd) Bradford Park Avenue (31pts 18th) v FC Halifax Town (55pts 5th) Chorley (59pts 4th) v AFC Telford (34pts 16th) FC United of Manchester (40pts 13th) v Tamworth (53pts 8th) Gainsborough Trinity (30pts 19th) v AFC Fylde (70pts 1st) Gloucester City (49pts 11th) v Harrogate Town (50pts 10th) Kidderminster Harriers (59pts 3rd) v Alfreton Town (34pts 17th) Nuneaton Town (38pts 14th) v Worcester City (29pts 20th) Stockport County (55pts 6th) v Curzon Ashton (41pts 12th)

Match Sponsor
Brother UK
Ball Sponsor
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Man of the Match Sponsor
John Dunn
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Mottram Cricket Club