Saturday the 4th of August sees FC Halifax Town kick of their 2018/19 season with an away trip down to Cressing Road in Essex where they will face Braintree Town FC.
Both sides have endured mixed pre-seasons with the teams experiencing numerous highs and lows in their respective preparations for the upcoming campaign.
The home team enjoyed a positive end to last season where they found themselves beating the likes of Truro City and Concord Rangers 2-1 before a final day home 3-0 triumph over Gloucester City.
The jewel in their 17/18 crown was their Play Off Final win at the Beveree Stadium as they won (4-3) on penalties after a 1-1 draw played out in the 90 minutes.
The visitors however didnโt have such a positive end to the season with Town drawing 0-0 away at Maidstone United before suffering a 2-0 home loss to eventual Play Off winners Tranmere Rovers and finally succumbing 1-0 away to Torquay in a disappointing day down on the south west coast.
Both teams have experienced similar pre-season campaigns with a mixture of wins, draws and losses all presenting themselves to the two National League outfits.
Braintree began their pre-season with a comprehensive 4-0 win over Thurlow Nunn Premier Division side Newmarket Town before this time being on the end of a 4-0 demolition at the hands of League Two outfit Colchester United.
They then went on to put in an impressive showing disposing of the Championshipโs Ipswich Town 2-0 thanks to a brace from potential danger man Aryan Tajbakhsh. The win was followed with respective 0-0 draws and a 1-0 wins against Essex rivals Chelmsford City and Coggeshall Town before suffering a 3-0 defeat to Cambridge United in their final pre-season game before hosting Town on the opening day.
FC Halifax Town also opened their pre-season account with a win and a draw with an initial 2-1 home loss at the hands of Stockport County of the National League North. The disappointment was then written off with an impressive 7-1 away demolition of Brighouse Town.
This was then followed with Town giving a good account of themselves in a slim 2-1 defeat to Championship side Bolton Wanderers, another defeat followed with Halifax losing to Port Vale 3-2 at home.
Before long Town helped themselves to their second win of pre-season by beating Coalville Town 3-1 in a strong away performance before a narrow 2-1 defeat at home to National League North side Boston United.
There were several positives for The Shaymen boss Jamie Fullarton to take away from pre-season, with spells of promising football being shown and new signings bedding well into the squad; most notably Dayle Southwell whoโs netted four times in pre-season.
The Shaymen will be looking to build on pre-season with a win away at Braintree Town before hosting Barrow A.F.C on the 7th of August.
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