Now Celtic have ensured Conference North survival, our final game of the season on Saturday at Gainsborough (kick off 3pm) will be a more relaxed affair. Gainsborough are currently four places and four points ahead of Celtic, so we cannot catch them. With a win, we could overtake Alfreton, Vauxhall and Barrow, finishing the season in a slightly more respectable fourteenth.

Trinity drew their last game, away at Redditch, but lost their last home match, 0-2 when Blyth were the visitors. Out of their last five, they have won two (away at Vauxhall and Workington) and drawn two (away at Redditch and at home to Leigh). The automated prediction algorithm is suggesting another win for them on Saturday with a 3-2 score line, but with Celtic?s new found defence there is a chance we could keep a third clean sheet on the run, as Gainsborough are not renowned for their scoring this season, with forty-nine league goals.

Their top scorer is Ryan Mallon with nine goals, whilst Simon Bird is hot on his heels with eight. Ross Hannah and Charlie Trout are not far behind either with six apiece. Most of Gainsborough?s scoring has been done in the second half (thirty-one of their forty-nine goals), with a ten goal spike around half time. Conceding is more even, though thirteen of their conceded fifty-seven goals have been in the final quarter of an hour. On average they score 1.4 goals per game at home (1.2 overall), whilst conceding 1.3 goals per game (1.4 overall).

This is our fourth meeting this season with Gainsborough, as we put them out of the Trophy at the second time of asking. They beat us 2-0 in the league at Bower Fold (meaning that if they beat us we will join Lancaster and Workington as the only teams they have done the double over), but we drew 1-1 at Northolme in the Trophy, before taking them back to Bower Fold and winning 2-1. We have a very good historical record against Gainsborough, and in the last twenty years, they have won just three of the twenty-seven meetings, with Celtic winning thirteen of them, three at the Northolme. However, our last win at the Northolme was in November 1999, when we put them out of the Trophy at the second time of asking! Our last league win there was a 1-4 win in the Unibond in 1998.

Neither side have any suspension worries going into the game, and Gainsborough have no injury worries. In their last match, the 1-1 draw with Alfreton, they lined up as:
1. Adam Sollitt
2. Danny Wood
3. Scott Lowe
4. Wes Parker
5. Richard Pell
6. Danny Anson
7. Charlie Trout
8. Liam Needham
9. Simon Bird
10. Ryan Mallon
11. Ross Hannah
Celtic?s last match was the 0-0 home draw with Kettering. Mark Haran stamping his return with a brace of clean sheets ? can we go for the hat-trick? In that match, we lined up as:
1. Simon Bishop
2. Grant Black
3. Jamie Kay
4. Chris Lever
5. Mark Haran
6. Ashley Winn
7. Steve Brodie
8. Paul Sykes
9. Lee Ellington
10. Matty Barlow
11. Kevin Parr

We have a good record against Trinity, and it would be good to end the season on a high, after the lows that have preceded it. Whilst there is nothing concrete at stake, there is pride and desire and a chance to make the final league table a little more refreshing than ?just above the relegation spots?. The Trinity players have had a mid-week game, whilst the Celtic players will be fresh, hopefully, after a long season, this will be enough to give Celtic the edge.