On Saturday, Celtic’s season kicks off for real when we travel to Ramsbottom in the FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round. Ramsbottom are in the North West Counties League and have already played two competitive matches leaving them sixth in the table with one win and a draw.

They started the season with an away 2-2 draw at Pilkington followed by a 3-0 home win over Abbey Hey. Last season, Ramsbottom finished 18th, with 13 wins, 11 draws and 22 losses.

We’ve played Ramsbottom technically once, in 2017, in the Integro Cup. Technically, because the game was postponed after the first attempt due to floodlight failure. After going behind in the first attempt, Celtic failed to learn, and ultimately lose 3-0.

Ramsbottom’s last match, the 3-0 home win over Abbey Hey, saw three different scorers, with one of the scorers an Abbey Hey player. In that match, they lined up as: 

1. Bradley Rose
2. Oscar Radcliffe
3. Maine Walder
4. Andrew Teague
5. Scott Sephton
6. Harry Winstanley
7. Joshua Tinker
8. Rob Wilson
9. Thomas Hoyle
10. Harvey Whyte
11. Luke Sephton

This is a chance for James Kinsey’s new look team to prove themselves against a team that has already shown in a cup match the relative positions are not worth the paper they’re played on.