Wins against Boston United and Buxton and a creditable draw at Southport on Tuesday mean The Celts enter their Isuzu FA Trophy tie against Northern Premier League high fliers Radcliffe FC in decent form.
The Celts do, however, have a lengthy injury list so fans can expect to see some changes tomorrow in a competition where we have a good recent record.
Skipper Chris Atkinson felt we were ‘excellent’ against Boston last week and praised the team’s battling spirit at Buxton and Southport but warned that The Celts will have to be at their best to beat a Radcliffe side who have lost only two games all season and who sit ten points clear at the top of their league.
“It’s been a great week for us to take seven points from a possible nine against three good sides. We need to build on this now. Radcliffe will be a very tough,” he said. “They’re flying in the league below and are one of the in-form teams in the country.
“They have a very strong experienced squad with a lot of good players. We are looking forward to the game we are in very good form ourselves. If we perform like we have done over the last week we are confident we can be in the hat for the next round.”
Coach Danny Ellis said the Celts’ recent run of fine form came as a result of hard work on the training ground, working hard to eliminate mistakes from our game and better decision-making on the pitch. This means we can go into the FA Trophy with confidence.
“You always want to give cup games a good go,” Danny said, reflecting on last season’s run in the competition, which saw us go out on penalties at Gateshead in the quarter finals.
“We’re playing against a very good team, they’re playing very well in the league below but we’re positive, we’ve hit a good run of form and we can’t wait for it.”
Kick-off time
The match kicks off at The Citadel at 3pm.
Team news
The Celts have selection decisions to make ahead of the game, with a number of injuries to contend with.
Striking duo Darren Stephenson and Clayton Donaldson are definitely out after picking up knocks at Southport.
Harry Allan, who made some important saves at Southport, is set to continue in goal as Zan Luk Leban is still away on International duty.
The gaffer will evaluate the condition of his players with The Celts facing a hectic playing schedule in the run-up to Christmas. New loan signing Noah Wadsworth from Bradford City will be available and Isaac Assenso has been recalled from his loan spell at Liversedge.
How are Radcliffe faring?
Season tickets are not valid for tomorrow’s game. Admission is available either by ticket in advance or at the turnstiles. All the latest ticket and match day information for supporters is available here. We ask supporters to park considerately out of respect for our neighbours.
Matchday food
We have an array of hot and cold food and drinks available. Pies include pork, steak and and chicken. Loaded fries ilncludepulled beef brisket and Korean crispy chicken. The clubhouse will also be open, serving a range of alcoholic and soft drinks.
