On Saturday, Celtic travel to Hednesford for our second longest away trip. Hednesford are currently bottom in twentieth, sixteen places and fourteen points below Celtic. Kick off is 3pm, and the match is segregated. Visitors should enter through the away gates.

Hednesford have won this season. Once, away at Newcastle Town in their second game of the season and their first away game. Since then, they have lost eight and drawn two, bringing their draws for the season up to three. All three draws came at home, all finished 1-1. They drew on the opening day to Trafford, and to Chasetown. Their most recent draw was in their last home match, drawing 1-1 with Runcorn Linnets. Their last two matches were both away and losses, to Vauxhall (3-2) and Liverpool (1-2).

Hednesford have only failed to score once. A 1-0 away defeat to Mossley. Max Dixon has three for the season, putting him top of their golden boot league, and they have had nine different scorers. On average they’ve scored 1.2 goals per game at home and 1.3 away. Six of their fifteen goals came at home. Defensively, they are bottom of the league. They have conceded twenty-five goals this season, eight of them at home, conceding 1.6 goals per game at home and 2.4 away. The have kept a clean sheet this season, in their only win over Newcastle Town.

We’ve met Hednesford nineteen times over the past thirty-five years. We’ve met them once already this season when they visited Bower Fold and Celtic won 3-2. Our last visit to Keys Park was in 2019, in the Norther Premier, which Hednesford won 1-0. Our last win over Hednesford in Keys Park was in 2015 when both teams were in the Conference North, when Celtic went behind in seconds, but Aiden Chippendale equalised with six minutes to go and Chris Simm got the winner in stoppage time. Our only other win in the last thirty years in Hednesford was in the Conference in 1995, when we won 1-0. In nine visits, we have won two, lost six and drawn one.

In Hednesford’s last match, the 2-1 away loss to City of Liverpool, Hednesford lined up as:
1. Ryan Brown
2. Callum Jones
3. Brett Lloyd
4. Thomas Thorley
5. Ritchie Sutton
6. Sam Griffiths
7. James McQuilkin
8. Joseph Thompson
9. Danny Glover
10. Demetri Brown
11. Star Mayemba

In Celtic’s last match, the 1-0 home win over Trafford, Celtic lined up as:
1. Luke Hewitson
2. Scott Wara
3. Redacted
4. Michael Brewster
5. Connor O’Grady
6. Jai Curran-Nichols
7. Brad Byrne
8. Jack Irlam
9. Matty Bryan
10. Max Leonard
11. Aaron Dwyer

Even with a win on Saturday Celtic cannot go top, despite only being two points behind Kidsgrove, they are away at Prescot Cables, so a win for Prescot would keep them ahead of us on goal difference, whilst a win for Kidsgrove would keep them two points ahead, and a draw would see them ahead of us on goal difference. Unless we beat Hednesford by eight goals, of course… Also ahead of us are Clitheroe, one point, and they are away at Vauxhall. So we could go second. Only Avro are within three points of Celtic, so the furthest we could drop is into fifth if they beat Newcastle away.