Next up it's Stalybridge Celtic vs Altrincham, 3pm on Saturday at Bower Fold.
As these two sides face each other in a Cheshire derby likely to attract a big crowd, this is also set up to be a promotion battle between two teams occupying play off places as it stands, with Stalybridge joint on points with top of the table Hyde having played a game extra and with a goal difference that's 3 less than the leaders.
Meanwhile Altrincham have recently risen to 5th in the table after a struggling start having been relegated from the Conference at the end of last season. The results of each team's opening 13 games were:
Stalybridge - WWWWDWWWWWDWL - 32 points
Altrincham - LDWDLDDWLWWWW - 22 points
A disappointing start for Altrincham coupled with a near perfect start for Stalybridge put a massive gap between the two, as after 9 games, with Stalybridge 2nd place, Altrincham were struggling in 14th position. But after winning the next 4 games Altrincham have caught up 5 points on their opponents and will be hoping to continue this run of form to catch up another 3 points on Saturday.
In the pre season title odds where Halifax Town were favourites, Altrincham were 2nd on 6-1 and Stalybridge joint with 3 teams in 6th on 12-1, so some will wonder whether Altrincham's improved form
coupled with Stalybridge beginning to drop points might be the beginning of a catch up.
From a neutral perspective the hope is this will be a game packed with goals - these are the two highest scoring teams in the league, Altrincham top scorers with 33 goals and Stalybridge just a goal behind on 32. In the winning run in the past 4 games Altrincham have scored an amazing 17 goals, that's over 4 goals per game.
Free scoring strikers for both sides have been one of the reason for all these goals - Altrincham have the league's top scorer, Damian Reeves, who's scored 14 goals in 13 games, including 8 goals in those last 4 games. Stalybridge meanwhile have the league's 3rd and 4th highest scorers - Phil Marsh on 12 goals and Connor Jennings with 9 goals.
Stalybridge were unbeaten in their opening 12 league games before losing 2-0 at Colwyn Bay last Saturday. Their last home league match was a 2-2 draw against Gloucester City (this blog's match report here) otherwise they've won all their home league games. Meanwhile Altrincham have been poor away having won 1, drawn 2 and lost 3. However their last away match was that 1 win, and it was a 6-1 win at Colwyn Bay who Stalybridge lost at last weekend.
Stalybridge fans will have half an eye on the score of their neighbours and main rivals Hyde who they're current joint on points with - Hyde also have a very difficult fixture as they're away at 3rd placed Guiseley, so the top of the league could be up for grabs. But on the other hand if Hyde were to win and 4th placed Gainsborough Trinity lose their game, Altrincham would move up to 3rd place with a win.
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