The season closes on Saturday when Atherton Collieries are our final game of the season. They are in seventeenth on forty-six points, three places and five points ahead of Celtic, and could also be relegated on Saturday. Kick-off 3pm, tickets available on the gate or online.

Only Warrington and Gainsborough have drawn more games than Atherton’s thirteen, so while they have won only one more game than Celtic this season, those vital points from draws have left their fate in their own hands going into the last game. Atherton started the season with one win in their opening six but climbed the table with one loss in the next twelve, breaking into the top ten. Since November, they have not strung any wins together. After Boxing Day, they didn’t win again until February and since March have won two of their last nine games, both at home. Since the start of December, the Colls have won twice on the road at Stafford and Radcliffe in their last ten away matches, with one draw, losing seven and dragging them ever closer to the relegation spots.

Two former Celts top their league scorers’ chart, with Scott Bakkor on seven and Jay Fitzmartin on eight, though Bakkor has departed the club. With fifteen goals scored on the road, they have the worst away attack of any team in the league. By some margin. The next lowest is Belper on twenty-two. Overall, they’ve scored thirty-five, also the lowest in the league by some distance, five fewer than Nantwich. On average they score at a rate of 0.8 goals per game. Defensively, they’re better, with the sixth worst in the league overall. Colls conceded their twenty-nine away goals (fifty-four overall) at a 1.4 goals per game (1.3 overall). They have kept five of their ten clean sheets away from home but failed to score eleven times (the worst in the league) away from home and seventeen times overall.

The game earlier in the season finished 1-1 at their place, with Chris Dagnall’s contender for goal of the season cancelling out Scott Bakkor’s opener. We also won both our encounters last season, both 1-0, with Raul Correia scoring a penalty at their place and from open place in Atherton’s last visit to Bower Fold. In the last thirty years, in the league, we’ve played Atherton six times, won two, lost two and drawn two. Their only win at Bower Fold coming in 2019, with Scott Bakkor’s second half goal not enough to cancel out two first half goals from Atherton.

In Atherton’s last match, the 3-1 home loss to Whitby, Atherton lined up as:
1. Mackenzie Chapman
2. Clive Smith
3. Gareth Peet
4. Cesaire Lingouba
5. Daniel Lafferty
6. Adam Rooney
7. Ben Hardcastle
8. Jack Lenehan
9. Josh Thompson
10. Jay Fitzmartin
11. Marcus Cusani

In Celtic’s last league match, the 4-2 away loss at Marske, Celtic lined up as:
1. Joseph O’Shaughnessy
2. Ciaran Summers
3. Anis Zaknoune
4. Mo Ali
5. Luke Barlow
6. Domaine Rouse
7. Curtis Morrison
8. Ethan Kershaw
9. DJ Pedro
10. Chris Dagnall
11. Harry Benns

Danny Burns and Kyle Harrison are both now available after their red cards, with Tom Miller missing the last match through illness and Raul Correia and Theo Bailey-Jones unable to get time off work, so will be available for selection on Saturday.

The season has finished for Celtic, but Collieries need the win to ensure safety in the league. A win for Celtic could see Nantwich escape the bottom four with a win at home to Radcliffe, whilst a loss for Celtic and a win for Liversedge at home to Marske could see us drop to second bottom.