Farsley Celtic will be looking to continue their unbeaten start to the season on Saturday as they make the long trip to face newly promoted Bishop’s Stortford.

It’s the second time this season that the Celts will be on the road after previously defeating another newly promoted side in Rushall Olympic 2-0 on the opening day of the season at Dales Lane thanks to goals from Ben Atkinson and Darren Stephenson.

Since that win at Rushall the Celts have played back to back matches at The Citadel which both ended in 1-1 draws against Chorley and South Shields, with Clayton Donaldson’s side showing plenty of character against the latter after a stoppage time penalty from Atkinson earned them a well deserved point against full-time opposition.

In all three matches, Farsley have been fielding a new-look squad which has gelled together impressively despite some of the fresh faces arriving in the days leading up to the matches such as Jack Leckie who signed on the same day as the South Shields match, as well as the fantastic Zan-Luk Leban who joined on loan from Everton the day before the season opener.

Leban has been one of the standout players from the first three matches, with a Player of the Match performance in the game against Chorley where the goalkeeper made nine saves throughout the 90 minutes to earn Farsley a point against a team who they’ve found to be tricky opposition in recent seasons.

Our hosts on Saturday have also been impressive early on in the season. Despite being pipped by many as ‘relegation favourites’, the Hertfordshire side sit one place behind Farsley in the league table on four points after an eye-raising 2-0 win against Chester in the first match, as well as a draw with Gloucester City.

Even though Bishop’s Stortford have been dealt a big disadvantage with their location being so far south, they have not let that bother them in their new era in the National League North.

Saturday’s game will mark the first time the two sides have played against each other, and it is set to be an intriguing one.

TEAM NEWS

Lewis Turner remains unavailable for the Celts with Isaac Assenso continuing to recover from injury as well.

The Celts welcomes back Clayton Donaldson on Tuesday night, and the player/head coach came through the 90 minutes despite picking up a slight knock when winning the penalty.

Tom Allan will be unavailable for selection, as he serves the first of his three match suspension after being sent off against Chorley for violent conduct.

TICKETS

Tickets can be purchased on the gate for this fixture.

All of the important supporter information can be found here.