Match Preview :- Gainsborough Trinity - Saturday October 24th, 2009 (15:00:00)
On Saturday Celtic travel to Gainsborough Trinity in this re-arranged Conference North fixture. Gainsborough are currently a point above the relegation places in sixteenth on twelve points, twelve places and twelve points behind Celtic having won just one home game all season, beating Droylsden 4-2. Brian is running a coach to this match, and there will be a live match centre for this game.

Gainsborough have picked up four points at home this season from a possible twenty-one and sit bottom of the home form table over the last five games with one point. With four wins and one draw out of the last five, Celtic sit top of the away chart, and top the form table overall for the past ten games. However, Gainsborough have been attempting to turn the tide at home, and have brought in a new defenders, Frenchman Idrissa Alassane and York City fringe player Alan O?Hare. Since Brian Little has taken the helm at the Northolme, he has yet to win at home, but did manage a 0-0 draw against Solihull Moors in their latest game, ending a four game home losing streak. Apart from their 4-2 win at home to Droylsden, Trinity have also picked up two wins on the road, beating Redditch 3-0 and Solihull away 1-0.

Their danger man this season is Glynn Hurst, who has netted five times (but not since September), with Lewis McMahon right behind him on four, and Luke Beckett, the striker who always scores against us, sitting on three. With eight of their nineteen goals this campaign coming at home, they are more of an away team, whilst the stats also indicate that the second half is the half to watch, with twelve of their goals being scored in this period, with six goals scored right after the restart this is their most dangerous point. They also concede more in the second half, with twenty of their twenty-seven conceded goals coming in this period and with eleven of them in the last ten minutes, this is their most vulnerable point. On average they score 1.1 goals per game at home (1.4 overall) and concede 2.3 goals at home (2.1 overall). They have kept one clean sheet at home, and three overall, whilst they have failed to score in one home game also, and again three overall.

We have not won at the Northolme in out last ten visits there, with seven draws and three wins for Trinity. Our last visit there, last season, saw us play out a 3-3 draw thanks to some dubious penalty decisions. Our last meeting was in February last season when Gainsborough beat us 2-1 at Bower Fold, whilst out last win over them was the season before when we thumped them 5-1. Our last win at the Northolme was back in 1999 when we knocked them out of the FA Trophy at the second time of asking, and our last league there victory was in 1998 when we beat them 4-1 in the Unibond Premier. Despite historically failing to fire at Gainsborough, the Automated Prediction Algorithm has taken our away form and their home form to indicate that Celtic could finally get a Conference North win at the Northolme with a 4-2 win for Celtic predicted.

The squad that held Solihull to a 0-0 draw in their last match is not available, but their squad against Fleetwood Town in the match prior to that was:
1. Phil Barnes
2. Adrian Moses
3. Nathan Peat
4. Mark Greaves
5. Wes Parker
6. Alan O?Hare
7. Ashley Burbeary
8. James Hunt
9. Darren Stamp
10. Mark Hudson
11. Ryan Semple

Celtic were without central defender Steve Woods in our last match, the 2-0 away win over Stafford, and lined up as:
1. Paul Phillips
2. Richard Battersby
3. Graeme Law
4. Michael Carr
5. Warren Peyton
6. John Hardiker
7. Dave Hankin
8. Keith Briggs
9. Joe O?Neill
10. Matty Barlow
11. Connor Jennings

With Celtic only a point off top spot, and with Southport and Fleetwood tied up in FA Cup action this weekend, should Droylsden fail to beat Eastwood at Eastwood, a win for Celtic would see us go top (unless Corby beat Stafford by four more goals than we win by). The other matches taking place on Saturday are:
Alfreton Town (21pts, 7th) v Ilkeston Town (21pts, 8th)
Corby Town (24pts, 5th) v Stafford Rangers (12pts, 17th)
Eastwood Town (22pts, 6th) v Droylsden (25pts, 1st)
Farsley Celtic (9pts, 22nd) v Vauxhall Motors (12pts, 19th)
Solihull Moors (12pts, 18th) v Harrogate Town (11pts, 20th)
Directions
Distance: 67
Time: 1 hour and 35 minutes

Head up Mottram Road towards Mottram.
Join Mottram Road towards Hollingworth.
At the traffic lights with the A57 Woolly Lane towards Glossop, continue straight ahead towards Hollingworth and Tintwistle.
After the lights the road becomes the A628.
Stay on the A628 and it will become the Woodhead pass.
After about 14 miles, you will reach the Flouch roundabout.
Turn right (exit 3 of 4) to join the A616 (signposted M1).
After 9 miles you will reach another roundabout, go straight across (exit 3 of 5) to stay on the A616.
After 1 1/2 miles you will reach the M1.
Join the M1 going southbound towards London.
Stay on the M1 for 10 miles to junction 32 (M18, The North, Doncaster, Hull).
Join the M18 towards the North, and leave at Junction 1 (A631, Rotherham).
At the roundabout at the end of the slip road, turn right towards Bawtry onto the A631.
Stay on the A631 following signs for Bawtry.
There are a couple of doglegs, t-junctions and roundabouts, but just keep on the A631 for about 22 miles until you reach the set of traffic lights after the oil depot with a dual carriageway ahead and a railway bridge going over the top.
Turn left here onto the A159 (Trinity Street), signposted for Gainsborough.
You will pass a large Tesco on the right, about half a mile further, there is a Total Petrol Station on the left hand side of the road - the ground is on the opposite side.
Parking is street based and limited.