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Gateshead Match Preview

Posted by FC Halifax Town
Posted on Thu 12 Apr 2018
Posted in Match Preview

FC Halifax Town are looking for their third win of the week as they take on Gateshead at the MBi Shay Stadium.

The Thursday game is likely to go ahead following the postponement of the original fixture on April 2nd, with Gateshead not having any free Tuesday evenings between now and the end of the season.

The Shaymen have taken six points from their last two games, with wins against two promotion chasing sides in Boreham Wood and Sutton United.

Townโ€™s form has seen them all but safe in the National League this season, with their last win taking them up to 14th and they currently sit on 53 points.

Gateshead go into this game without a win in five, having not won since their 7-1 demolition of Maidenhead in March.

Most recently, the Tynesiders fell to a 4-2 defeat to Tranmere on Tuesday, squandering a 2-0 lead at Prenton Park.

Gatesheadโ€™s recent form has seen them drop down the table and they now find themselves in 16th place, three points behind Town.

Steve Watsonโ€™s side could see themselves dragged into a late relegation dog fight should their poor form continue, with just one win in their last eight games.

Halifax, on the other hand, go into this fixture with just one loss in their last eight games, bouncing back superbly from the defeat at Fylde.

Even more impressively, the Shaymen have been without star man Matty Kosylo in their last two wins, after the winger was taken off in the defeat at Mill Farm.

However, with two goals in his last two games, Mike Fondop-Talom has stepped up in his absence, taking both his goals brilliantly against sides in the top three.

For Gateshead, the danger men to look out for are forwards Danny Johnson and former Shayman Jordan Burrow, who have both been finding the net for the Tynesiders this season.

Johnson leads the scoring charts for the side, with nine goals in the National League, with Burrow close behind on seven.

Burrow joined Gateshead from Town back in 2016, following his prolific, top-scorer season which saw the Shaymen lift the FA Trophy.

It is yet to see whether captain Matty Brown will make an appearance in this fixture, as he was withdrawn in the first half of the win over Sutton with a tight hamstring.

When these sides met back in August, the score finished 0-0 in a tightly contested affair at the Gateshead International Stadium.

The talking point of the game was a red card for Kosylo, who nearly scored for the Shaymen with a long-distance effort that cannoned off the bar.

The ten-man Town managed to hold on to claim a point which would see them drop to 16th in the table.

Match Officials:

Referee: Daniel Middleton

Assistants: Robert Evans/Matthew Law

Fourth Official: David Holbrook

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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