Clitheroe travel down the M6 tomorrow to take on Hanley Town away from home for only the
second time ever. They travel as league leaders, with Hanley in 12 th place, and will be looking to cement their position at the top of the table.

Hanley are clearly a sterner outfit than last season and have proven to be a very tough nut to crack. Their FA Cup run saw them win two replayed preliminary round games against Hereford Pegasus and Stourport Swifts, before going out away at Anstey Nomads. In the Trophy, they beat Cleethorpes and Sheffield before going down by the single goal of the game at home against Macclesfield.

In the league, they started poorly with a home defeat against Stalybridge and an away defeat at local rivals Kidsgrove. Their home record is less impressive than their away form, which mirrors last season. They have been beaten at home by Newcastle, Mossley and Prescot, whilst registering wins against Nantwich and 1874 Northwich. Away from home, they have beaten Widnes, Hednesford and Runcorn, drawn with Avro and registered a sole additional narrow defeat away last Tuesday against Leek, when the cards seemed to have been flying like confetti.

In short, this is the kind of game that Clitheroe will want to win to keep up their title challenge,
whilst knowing that Hanley are a very difficult proposition.