Atherton Collieries will look to keep their positive recent momentum rolling as Stafford Rangers visit the Dreams2Reality Stadium for Saturday’s survival six-pointer.
The Colls return to home soil having claimed quite the scalp last time out, winning 2-0 away at league leaders Widnes thanks to goals from Calen Gallagher-Allison and Scott Bakkor.
That followed another significant result in the form of a 4-2 triumph when Hanley Town were the visitors the weekend previous, and that pair of victories have acted as a big boost in the battle to avoid the drop.
Michael Clegg’s men do remain a point from safety heading into this latest round of games but would escape the relegation zone (leapfrogging their opponents in the process) with three points, with the potential to make further gains should results elsewhere fall in their favour.
It’s been a similarly positive story for Stafford in recent weeks, however, so the quest to secure a third win on the spin is unlikely to be a straightforward one.
The Boro have won each of their last four Northern Premier League Division One West fixtures, a run which has allowed them to climb out of the bottom four and up to 17th in the standings at the time of writing with an overall record of 37 points from 29 games played, amassed via 11 wins, four draws and 14 defeats.
This weekend’s opponents will also likely be buoyed by the fact that were able to claim a comprehensive 5-0 victory during October’s reverse running of this fixture, though they will have slightly less fond memories of their last trip to Atherton, having been beaten 1-0 at the back end of a 2023/24 campaign where both sides would ultimately lose their step three status.
Both still have the power to ensure this season doesn’t end in a second successive relegation firmly in their own hands at this stage, and three points from Saturday’s game could well play a pivotal role in aiding those efforts.
And for those looking to be a part of what will hopefully be a bumper crowd for this crunch meeting, entry will be available via our cash or card turnstiles, priced as follows:
Adults: £10
Concessions: £7
Under 18s: £4
Under 11s/1916 Club members: Free.
