Josh Wilde is excited about the prospect of facing Dagenham and Redbridge in an Emirates FA Cup first round replay at the MBi Shay Stadium on Tuesday night (7.45pm). FC Halifax Town go into the game on the back of a 2-0 victory against Kidderminster Harriers on Saturday, and Wilde is raring to go as they attempt to reach the second round proper for the first time in FC Halifax Town’s history.
“I think it’s a great chance,” said Wilde. “It’s a massive opportunity to get to the second round.
“It’s the first time I’ve even got into the first round and I think it’s the same for a few of the other lads. I just want to get to the second round and I’ll do all I can to make that happen.”
The defender was pleased with Halifax’s preparation – a win at the weekend – and is optimistic about Town going forward, saying: “It was a tough game as they’re a good team, but it was nice to get the win. I do think in the second half, especially when they went down to ten men, we could have kept the ball a bit better, but other than that it’s a great result. It’s all about the three points at the end of the day and we’ve got them so we’re happy, and we move on.
“We’re creating a lot of chances and I think we defended well to get a clean sheet again. We want to start another run like we did before so obviously it’s nice to get started, and hopefully we can keep going on Tuesday.”
When asked about the 0-0 draw at Dagenham, Wilde claimed that despite chances for both sides the result was fair. “They had a lot of chances in the second half, especially, but first half we had enough chances to score a goal,” he said. “I think it would have been harsh if either team had have won.”
The Daggers’ preparation for the replay was far from ideal, losing 5-0 at home to Gateshead, but Wilde is wary of a possible backlash from the southern outfit, saying: “It can work both ways really. They can see it as a ‘we need to improve’, and a kick up the backside.
“For us, we’ve just got to keep doing what we’re doing, and keep pressing when we haven’t got the ball.
“We are getting better as a team; we knew it would take time to gel. Sometimes I think as fans you want it straight away but it does take time and I think you’ve seen, now, that we’re getting to know each other. It’s working and I’m really happy with the back four and all the lads are doing really well.”
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