Farsley Celtic continued their strong start to the 2023/24 season after a first half goal from Darren Stephenson earned a 1-0 win for the Celts away at Bishop’s Stortford.
Clayton Donaldson’s side headed into the game with an unbeaten record after the first three matches of the new season, after a 2-0 win away at Rushall Olympic on the opening day, followed by two consecutive 1-1 draws at The Citadel against Chorley and South Shields.
As may have been expected due to the long four-hour journey down to Hertforshire, Farsley started off the slower of the two teams and could have been behind after ten minutes when George Sykes turned a volley wide from the edge of the six-yard box.
After absorbing the early pressure from the home side, the Celts took the lead just after the half-hour mark when Darren Stephenson latched onto a long ball forward from Harry Sheridan before rounding Jack Giddens and eventually finding the roof of the net to put Farsley in the driving seat.
The second half did not produce much in the way of chances either, with Stortford launching an aerial bombardment on the Farsley defence to no avail, with the excellent Rudy Misambo and Jack Leckie staying resolute.
Conor Branson will wonder how he didn’t double Farsley’s lead with 20 minutes to go when he met Chris Atkinson’s out-swinging corner, powering a header goalwards forcing a superb reflex save from Giddens to keep the home side in the game.
That would prove to be the final major chance of the match, as the home side continued to try to find an equaliser and fail, with Zan-Luk Leban rarely tested in the Farsley goal before the final whistle blew to seal another impressive three points for the Celt Army.
The result sends Farsley up to sixth in the National League North after two wins and two draws, which also makes them one of only ten sides in the entire National League to remain unbeaten.
Up next, it’s a return to The Citadel for Farsley as they welcome another newly promoted side in Tamworth on Saturday 26 August with a kick-off time of 3:00PM.
Tickets for the match can be purchased here.
