Gaffer Clayton Donaldson couldn’t be prouder of his team over the Christmas period, despite back to back 2-0 defeats at the hands of league leaders Scunthorpe United.
The Celts go into the Curzon Ashton game in good form and spirits – and aiming to start a new unbeaten run to match the eight league games they went undefeated until the two fixtures against Scunthorpe.
“Our performance last Saturday warranted at least a point, if not more,” said Clayton. “We were disappointed to lose when we look back and we feel we’ve dropped points. Refereeing decisions and things happening in the game went against us and we feel hard done by.
“But it was still a good performance against a team at the top of the league, and who are the biggest in the division in terms of resources. There are a lot of positives to take from those two games. We can certainly go into tomorrow’s game with confidence.”
Farsley’s 2-1 win over Curzon last month is a game that will live long in home fans’ memories. A late late show saw The Celts’ equalise on 93 minutes through skipper Chris Atkinson and Michael Coulson’s stunning 97th-minute free kick won it in dramatic fashion.
Clayton said:: “Curzon are in the play off places and we have to respect them for that. They won 3-0 at Southport on Monday, which will give them confidence.
“But we can take confidence from our 2-1 win against Curzon. We know we have been in good form and we know we can beat them as we’ve done it already.
“We’re looking to get back to winning ways and winning games, in many ways Scunthorpe came at a bad time as we were on a really good run. We have a good opportunity to get back to winning ways and start a fresh unbeaten run, and that’s what we’ll be looking to to tomorrow.”
Kick-off time
The match kicks off at 3pm.
Ticket news & parking
Admission is by cash or card payment at the turnstile or tickets can be bought in advance. Parking is available at the stadium. Full details can be found here.
Team news
The Celts will be without midfielder Ryan Watson, who serves the second of a three-match ban following his dismissal against Gloucester City before Christmas. Boss Clayton Donaldson says he was left frustrated that the club couldn’t appeal Chris Atkinson’s second yellow against Scunthorpe on Saturday, and the skipper misses the Curzon clash with a one-match ban.
Darren Stephenson is still out injured but Lewis Turner has at last stepped up to full first team training following long-term injury. Forward Dylan Youmbi limped off against Scunthorpe last Saturday with a knock.
How are Curzon faring?
Last time we met
Farsley had an afternoon to forget in East Manchester last January as they fell to a 5-2 defeat at the hands of Curzon Ashton.
Despite Dave Syers’ header levelling matters after Josh Hancock’s opener from the spot, things started to go south for the Celts with Craig Mahon and Hancock netting his second before the break.
A second-half double from Tom Peers put The Nash out of sight, before Frank Mulhern added a late consolation penalty as Farsley returned to Yorkshire empty handed. Read the match report here.
Catering
Hot and cold food and drink is available in the ground on match day. The clubhouse in the ground is also open to home and away fans.
