Saturday sees Celtic travel to the coast for a crunch match with Southport. Southport are currently sixth in the table, three places and four points behind Celtic, having played two games less. Earlier in the season when the two sides met at Bower Fold, the game was tied 2-2. Hopefully, there will be a live match centre for this match.
Southport were relegated out of the Conference National last season, and have adapted to life back in the Conference North easily and quickly, and have been in the top six all season. A bit of a wobble at the end of January beginning of February saw them lose three consecutive matches (at home to Worcester and away at Blyth and Kettering), ahead of the draw with us at Bower Fold. In their last eight matches, they have won just twice, which has seen them leave their second spot behind to occupy their current sixth spot. Southport?s last home win was back on Boxing Day when they beat Burscough 1-0, though they have only played four home games since then, and they have drawn their last two with Redditch and Nuneaton.
Our last visit to Haig Avenue was back in December 2004, when we lost 2-0. This was revenge for the Sand Grounders from the season before when we beat them 3-2 (with Jean-Paul in net for a nervous 90 minutes!). We have not had many wins at Haig Avenue, and have won just three games there in twenty years, with Southport winning seven, and two were draws. We?ve failed to score in five of our twelve visits, and Southport have been hard to break down at home this season, keeping five clean sheets, and never conceding more than two.
Their top scorer this season is Tony Gray, who has eleven goals so far, with seven of those coming in the last three matches (including two hat-tricks!). Ex-Celtic winger Neil Prince is Gray?s closest rival for Southport?s Golden Boot this year, with seven goals, though with fifteen different goal-scorers this season, the goals are coming from all over the pitch for Southport. Their most prolific period this season is the fifty to seventy minute period, with nineteen of their fifty-nine goals coming in this period. Their wobbliest period is the last twenty minutes, when they have conceded thirteen of their thirty-seven goals. They have the fifth best attack record in the league (Celtic are third), and the fifth best defence (Celtic are seventh). On average they score two goals per game at home (1.8 overall), and concede 0.9 goals per game at home (1.2 overall). On average they score their first goal in the thirty-seventh minute and concede on average in the fifty-second minute. They have failed to score just twice at home (against Harrogate and Worcester).
Southport have signed two new players, Michael Rae from Hartlepool is a striker, and James Oliver from Forrest Green is a midfielder, though Rae pulled a hamstring against Tamworth and will require a fitness test ahead of the match, as will Mark Duffy. Neil Robinson will definitely be out of contention, serving the second of his two match ban for an accumulation of cautions. In their last match, a 3-1 away win over Tamworth, Southport lined up as:
1. Steve Drench
2. Danny Holmes
3. Paul Barratt
4. Matt Hocking
5. Kevin Lee
6. Chris Holland
7. Neil Prince
8. Liam Blakeman
9. Michael Rae
10. Tony Gray
11. Michael Powell
Celtic have a full squad to select from ahead of the match, with no injury or suspension worries. In Celtic?s last match, the 3-1 home win over Alfreton, Celtic lined up as:
1. Paddy Gamble
2. Ashley Woolliscroft
3. Andy Smart
4. Steve Payne
5. Terry Barwick
6. Paul Sykes
7. Steve Torpey
8. Ashley Winn
9. Chris Hall
10. James Dean
11. Alex Meechan
Southport have taken 39% of the available points in their last six home matches, whilst Celtic have taken 83% of the points available in their last six away matches. For this reason, the automated prediction algorithm has suggested one of Celtic?s favourite score-lines this season, 3-1 to Celtic. Southport are a strong, solid outfit though, and any kind of result would be a good one. Southport will have a big part to play in who goes into the play offs, and maybe even who wins the title. They have yet to play us, Telford, Kettering and Nuneaton. These are games they are looking to win to get back into the play offs themselves. After this match, Celtic have two more away matches, and only one more match against a top nine side. A win would go a long way to ensuring a play-off spot.