On Saturday, Celtic head north to Blyth Spartans in the FA Trophy. Blyth are currently flying in the Conference North, in fourth place after nineteen games with thirty-six points. They've got twelve wins under their belts, but have yet to draw this season. There should be a match centre for this game, and will be a Twitter feed and radio commentary.
Blyth have won six of their nine home matches this season, and have won their last five home league games, with their last home league loss a 2-0 defeat by Harrogate back at the end of August. They have won their last two games, beating Southport 3-0 away most recently, and Leamington 1-0 at home. Their last loss was a 4-1 away defeat to Bradford Park Avenue, whilst their last home loss in all competitions was a 2-1 defeat by Shaw Lane in the FA Cup.
Blyth's top scorer this season is Daniel Maguire, who has thirteen league goals so far, making him the second highest goal scorer in the Conference North, and he won the Player of the Month for September. They have scored a total of forty-five goals at a rate of 2.4 goals per game and conceded thirty-three at a rate of 1.7 goals per game. They have kept two clean sheets and failed to score in four.
The last meeting between the two teams was in the 11/12 season. We drew 1-1 in the league in Blyth, beat them 2-0 at home, and knocked them out of the FA Trophy in Blyth with a 3-1 win, with Connor Jennings, Stephen Brogan and Phil Marsh all on the score sheet. Blyth last beat us in the 09/10 season, when they won 1-0 at Bower Fold and 4-1 at Croft Park. We have won two and drawn two in our last five visits. Indeed, we have a good record at Croft Park, in thirteen visits, we have won eight and lost three. We have an even better record at home, with one loss and nine wins in fourteen games.
In their last match, the 3-0 away defeat of Southport, they lined up as:
1. Peter Jameson
2. David Atkinson
3. Nathan Buddle
4. Ryan Hutchinson
5. Michael Liddle
6. Darren Mullen
7. Sean Reid
8. Jarrett Rivers
9. Dale Hopson
10. Robbie Dale
11. Adam Wrightson
Celtic's last match was he 2-1 away defeat at Hednesford Town, in which we lined up as:
1. Joe Slinn
2. Oliver Crowley
3. Alex Honeyball
4. Tom Brown
5. Luke Ashworth
6. Ross Killock
7. Jordan Chapell
8. Oli Roberts
9. Liam Dickinson
10. Matty Wolfenden
11. Connor Hughes
This is a no lose game for Celtic, given our away record and our cup record Blyth are definite favourites for this game, so getting a result and into the hat for the next round would be a major bonus.
