Atherton Collieries will look to continue their fine recent form and extend their unbeaten run to five matches when Chasetown visit the Dreams2Reality Stadium on Saturday.
Having claimed the significant scalp of league leaders Widnes on the road on February 8, the Colls managed to repeat the trick last time out, this time taking down then-third placed side Congleton Town 2-1 thanks to goals from Scott Bakkor and Aaron Dwyer.
That most recent triumph made it 10 points from the last four matches for Michael Clegg’s men, a haul which means they return home for this weekend’s game having successfully clawed their way out of the relegation zone.
And awaiting at Alder House is another chance to upset the Northern Premier League Division One West table, with Chasetown representing another of the division’s promotion chasing teams.
In fact, the Scholars enter this latest round of fixtures in possession of the fourth and final play-off spot, sitting fifth with an overall return of 55 points from 32 games played, amassed via 16 wins, seven draws and nine defeats.
Unlike the Stripes, Saturday’s visitors were in action in midweek and tasted victory for the first time in three attempts as they were able to see off Vauxhall Motors 2-1 on Tuesday night.
It was by that same margin that the Staffordshire-based side prevailed during December’s reverse meeting of these two sides, that despite Ethan Kershaw coming off the bench to open the scoring just past the hour mark.
Meanwhile, the most recent (and interestingly to date only) running of this upcoming fixture to be held in Atherton did end in a 2-0 home win, with striker James Kirby (now playing in Sweden for former Europa League participants Ostersund) grabbing both goals of that game back in February 2019.
A repeat this time around would send out another significant statement as to Colls’ survival credentials and with any result likely to carry implications at both ends of the table, Saturday’s game promises to be a hard fought encounter and one certainly not to be missed.
And for those planning on attending this weekend’s fixture, entry will be available via our cash and card turnstiles, priced as follows:
Adults: £10
Concessions/students: £7
Under 18s: £4
Accompanied Under 11s/1916 Club members: Free.
