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Macclesfield Town: Match Preview

Posted by FC Halifax Town
Posted on Mon 25 Dec 2017
Posted in Match Preview

Boxing Day will see FC Halifax Town make the relatively short journey to Macclesfield Townโ€™s Moss Rose, as the Shaymen look to upset the odds in search of their third league win in a row.

The away trip comes as Town prepare to face the Silkmen twice in the space of six days, with the home leg falling on New Yearโ€™s Day in what could be a tricky couple of games for Billy Heathโ€™s men.

Current Form

The Shaymen ended what was a disappointing run of results just over two weeks ago, with the 1-0 win away at Aldershot being the first since late September in the Vanarama National League.

Since then, Townโ€™s luck seems to be on the turn as a 4-0 thumping of strugglers Chester FC at the MBi Shay Stadium made it two wins from two, making it a successful start to the busy winter period. However, the Silkmen could certainly prove to be a strong opponent.

Our hosts for the day have not lost a game in the league since the end of October with John Askeyโ€™s side currently sitting top of the league, just two points ahead of Wrexham in second place.

From what we have seen so far, this campaign, the Silkmen look set to be challenging for that automatic promotion spot come the end of the season in April. Not only that, when looking at their current squad, it is clear to see why this is the case.

FC Halifax Town: LDLWW
Macclesfield Town: DDWWD

Key Man

The Silkmen have a plethora of talent at their disposal as they aim to stay top of the table by the end of Boxing Day, but there is one man who will pose a major threat should he start at Moss Rose.

Summer signing Scott Wilson has made 23 appearances so far for the home side, after his move from Eastleigh in the 2017 transfer window, and currently has ten goals to his name following a hat-trick in the Silkmenโ€™s comfortable 4-1 win over Wrexham a couple of weeks ago.

This puts him level with midfielder and club hero Danny Whitaker as top scorer this season so far for Macclesfield, although Wilson has also shown this quality at his former clubs. During the 2015/16 season, Wilson netted 24 times for Weston-Super Mare which earned him a step up the footballing pyramid with Eastleigh.

Despite a limited number of opportunities with the Spitfires in 2016/17, Wilson managed to find the net six times in his twelve appearances for the club, before joining Macclesfield at the end of the season.

Last Meeting

The last time that these two sides met was in the 2015/16 season, where both fixtures fell in the second half of the season. The away leg, played in early January, saw Town extend their unbeaten run to eight games in the league thanks to Shaun Tutonโ€™s second half strike.

That game finished 1-0 to the Shaymen, who went on to make it ten games unbeaten before losing to Forest Green Rovers in February. This was the turning point, with Town losing eight of their final sixteen fixtures which pushed them closer to the danger zone.

It came down to the final game of the season, against Macclesfield, in which a win would have kept Town in the National League. It looked to be heading in a positive direction for Town after Scott McManus put them ahead before half time.

However, Danny Roweโ€™s second half equaliser turned out to be enough to send the Shaymen to the National League North, who were unlucky not to get the win as Waide Fairhurstโ€™s header agonisingly struck the post deep into injury time.

Match Officials
Referee: Peter Gibbons
Assistants: Richard Abson and Alan Hull
Fourth Official: Alex Gray

Follow the Game
There will be live updates and commentary available on the club website and Shaymen TV.
You can also follow the action via Townโ€™s official Twitter account, @FCHTOnline.

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