Non-League: Farsley Celtic looking to build against Chester as Guiseley aim to get on right track at Curzon Ashton

The Celt Army, who have recorded two 11th-place finishes in National League North in consecutive seasons, registered a 1-0 win against the Bulls at Edgar Street to get their campaign off to a brilliant and almost unexpected winning start.

After adding former Bradford City hero James Hanson to their ranks, alongside Ben McKenna and midfielder Sam Walker from Spennymoor Town and Curzon Ashton respectively, the West Yorkshire side’s performance on Saturday showed that they may just be on a promotion push.

And they face a Chester side today who, having not played in the league thus far, will be wanting to get off on the right foot themselves with a victory at the Citadel.

It will be Farsley’s first game in front of fans since the pandemic engulfed sporting capacity regulations – a time which spans 17 months, meaning that Lakeland’s men have played more games in this division without fans than they have with. Chester represent a tough challenge for the Celt Army; after finishing third in the division last season before it ultimately became curtailed – the side from the Deva Stadium will be hungry to maintain the status quo that they achieved last season with a strong display.

Elsewhere, Guiseley take on Greater Manchester-based outfit Curzon Ashton at the Tameside Stadium this afternoon.

Marcus Bignot’s men looked to shake off their poor form from last season with a strong start against big spending AFC Fylde last weekend.

Yet, despite going 1-0 up, a series of quick-fire penalties in favour of the Lancashire side turned the game against the Lions after the Coasters left Nethermoor with all three points from a 4-2 win.

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