Match Preview :- Lancaster City - Tuesday August 15th, 2006 (19:45:00)
Celtic?s first away match of the new campaign is the same as last season, an away day visit to Lancaster City (kick off 7:45pm). There have been many changes at the Giant Axe since our last visit, from the back room right through every position on the pitch and the kit that the team wear. It should also be an outing for the new Celtic away kit.

Lancaster were one of eight teams that lost on the opening day, their defeat coming away at the hands of Alfreton Town. They lost that match 2-1, with Alfreton coming from behind and able to hold onto the goal advantage to the end of the match. Re-signing Ryan Black got Lancaster?s only goal in the 24th minute.

Last season, Lancaster skirted with relegation, ending the season with five straight defeats, taking just four points out of their last ten matches. Their top scorer was Alex Taylor, one of the many players who left during a turbulent close season for the Lancashire outfit. Ryan Black spent most of last season at Kettering Town, but his five goals still put him as their fourth top scorer, his last for the club being against Alfreton!

Last season, Lancaster scored an average of 1.4 goals per game at home (1.2 overall), with two thirds of them coming in the second half. Celtic?s visit there last season resulted in a 2-2 draw, with Neil Prince scoring both for us, and Celtic earning two penalties (a third of our total for the season).

With this being the Dolly Blue?s first home game, City manager Gary Finlay will be keen to get off to a good start and start enticing the crowds back to the Giant Axe (last season?s average was just over three hundred).

Lancaster have signed a host of new players from Harrogate, Droylsden, Morecambe and others, and manager Phil Wilson has departed. The team against Alfreton was completely new from last season, and could be taking time to gel competitively:
1. Joe Kennedy
2. Steve Winnie
3. Danny Ryan
4. James Kelly
5. Dave Bayliss
6. Michael Taylor
7. Neil Uberschar
8. Anton Lally
9. Kingsley Jones
10. Ryan Black
11. James Tandy

Celtic?s line up had just two new faces from last season:
1. Nick Buxton
2. Grant Black
3. Scott Maxfield
4. Barrie Keeling
5. Mark Haran
6. Ashley Winn
7. James Turley
8. Steve Brodie
9. Lee Ellington
10. Mark Hume
11. Paul Sykes

New signing, Lee Morris, took some part in the last pre-season game against Blackburn, but didn?t even make the bench against Hucknall. Celtic?s other new signings of Ian Snodin, Nicky Platt and Jamie Kay all made the bench against Hucknall. One player who will not be on the team sheet is Paul Pettinger who will be serving out the last game of his two match ban.

Celtic need to get some wins under their belt in this early part of the season, and we could well go one better than we did against Lancaster last season. The automated prediction league has not yet got enough data to go on, but I believe that Celtic will have enough in them to take three points.
Directions
Distance: 72
Time: 1 hour and 20 minutes

From the M60 Junction 1 (Stockport) head clockwise towards Preston.
Turn off at Junction 15 onto the M61 towards Preston.
Stay on the M61 to the end, where it joins the M6 (North - signposted The Lakes).
Stay on the M6 for about 20 miles to Junction 33 (Lancaster South).
At the roundabout at the end of the slip-road, turn right (exit 2 of 3) onto the A6.
Stay on the A6 for about 4 miles, and you will reach a roundabout.
Go straight across (exit 3 of 5) to stay on the A6.
After 1/2 a mile, you will reach a set of lights with Waterstones on the left.
Turn left here onto Market Street (which becomes Meeting House Lane).
After a couple of hundred yards you will cross a railway line.
Take the next right onto Station Road.
At the t-junction, turn right onto West Road.
The ground (and car-park) is on the right through some railings.