On Saturday, Celtic host Nantwich Town in the FA Trophy (kick off 3pm). Nantwich are currently second on twenty-nine points, eight places and seven points above Celtic. Nantwich have not lost in their last ten matches, their last loss was at the start of September when they lost away at South Shields There will be a match centre and Twitter feed for this game.
Nantwich have won six and drawn four of their last ten and have not lost at home all season. Most recently, they beat Marine 1-0 in Crosby, with their last away match. In their last five away matches, they've drawn two and won 3, including a 3-2 win over Scarborough and a 1-1 draw at Bower Fold.
Danny Glover is the top scorer at Nantwich so far this season, his five goals putting him just ahead of three other players on four apiece. Despite being second, Nantwich have only scored one more goal than Celtic, though they have conceded seven fewer. On average they are scoring 1.1 goals per game away from home (1.5 overall), whilst conceding 1.6 goals per game away from home (1.2 overall). They have kept two clean sheets on the road from five overall, whilst failing to score in three away games and five overall. Out of their twenty-three goals, only eight have been scored on the road, with six of those goals coming in just two games, away at Grantham and away at Scarborough (both 3-2).
We've already met Nantwich at Bower Fold this season, a game that finished 1-1, with Ross Dent's goal cancelled by Sean Cooke with neither team creating many chances. Last season we met three times, with Celtic winning both league matches (1-0 at home and 3-2 away) whilst losing the Cheshire Senior cup match 4-3. The last time the two teams met in the FA Trophy at Bower Fold, it finished 2-1 to Celtic back in 2010, with Lloyd Ellams and Phil Marsh scoring either side of Jack Rodney.
In Nantwich's most recent match, the 1-0 away win over Marine, they lined up as:
1. Fabian Spiess
2. Jamie Morgan
3. Louis Barnes
4. Joel Stair
5. Toby Mullarkey
6. Matt Bell
7. Joe Mwasile
8. James Lawrie
9. Joe Malkin
10. Sean Cooke
11. Craig Lindfield
In Celtic's last match, the 1-0 away defeat at Lancaster, Celtic lined up as:
1. Paddy Wharton
2. Liam Tongue
3. Scott Wilson
4. Ross Dent
5. Danny Brady
6. Michael Clarke
7. Scott Bakkor
8. Glenn Rule
9. Neil Kengni
10. Matthew Wolfenden
11. George Hughes
James Caton came through his cameo at Lancaster and may feature, whilst Chris Sharp is a doubt. Michael Clarke should be okay after receiving a knock in Lancaster, so Celtic are getting close to returning to full strength.
This is a break from a frustrating couple of weeks in the league and a rare thing indeed, with Celtic at home in a cup match. Our home form has been decent this season, but Nantwich are flying at the moment so this will be a tricky tie to negotiate. Nantwich went out in the first qualifying round last season, losing 2-0 to Rushall Olympic, whilst Celtic went out in the third qualifying round, away at Blyth after beating Prescott in a replay and then Rushall Olympic at Bower Fold.
Table |
P | Pts | |
1 | Scarborough Athletic | 15 | 31 |
---|---|---|---|
2 | Nantwich Town | 15 | 29 |
3 | Basford United | 16 | 28 |
4 | Farsley Celtic | 14 | 27 |
5 | South Shields | 13 | 24 |
Sat 27 Oct 2018 | Stalybridge Celtic | 0-1 |
Tue 23 Oct 2018 | Marine | 1-0 |
Sat 20 Oct 2018 | Workington | 0-0 |
Tue 16 Oct 2018 | Grantham Town | 3-2 |
Sat 13 Oct 2018 | Mickleover FC | 0-0 |
Goal Scorers | H | A | 1st | 2nd | Total | |
1 | Glover, Danny | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
2 | Lindfield, Craig | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
2= | Saunders, Callum | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
2= | Lawrie, James | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
3 | Cooke, Sean | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Home win | Whitby Town | 4-1 | Sat 15th Sep |
Away win | Grantham Town | 2-3 | Tue 16th Oct |
Home defeat | Never lost at home | ||
Away defeat | South Shields | 4-0 | Sat 1st Sep |
Home score | Lancaster City | 5-2 | Sat 25th Aug |
Away score | Grantham Town | 2-3 | Tue 16th Oct |
Games Since... | Overall | Home | Away |
Last Scored | 2 | 2 | 1 |
Last Conceded | 2 | 2 | 1 |
Last Won | 2 | 2 | 1 |
Last Drew | 6 | 5 | 3 |