STALYBRIDGE Celtic face an uphill task at Bower Fold on Sunday after going down 1-0 in the first-leg of their Blue Square North promotion play-off semi-final at Southport last night.

But Steve Burr's side would have had more to show from their efforts at Haig Avenue had striker James Dean enjoyed some better fortune in front of goal.

Dean was unlucky to fire against a post shortly after Liam Blakeman had scored what proved to be the only goal of an evenly-balanced contest with a crisp shot from the edge of the box in the 28th minute.