FC Halifax Town centre-back Scott Garner is โguttedโ that he wonโt be involved in Mondayโs Boxing Day clash with Darlington FC.
The former Boston United captain was sent off in the Emirates FA Cup replay against Eastleigh just under two weeks ago, and says itโs a hard time for him: โIโm really frustrated with myself, people say you get Boxing Day off but itโs not like that at all. Iโm actually gutted Iโm not involved and I feel like Iโm missing out if anything.โ
Garner was relishing playing against rivals Darlington in Townโs festive double header with the County Durham based outfit, with close friend Liam Marss set to start against Town on Boxing Day.
Excited at the prospect of a derby, Garner said: โI think theyโve got a big lad up front too who I was looking forward to having a battle against,โ Town will pose a new threat on Monday as well, with new signing Liam Morgan coming straight into the fold.
A signing that Garner describes as โexcitingโ, he told us that he โheard a rumour [FC Halifax] were signing him at training the other night, obviously [Garner] did well in the FA Cup against Wimbledon, and heโs very highly rated.โ
Morgan signed from National League side Curzon Ashton, having scored eleven goals in nine appearances for the Nash. Bringing a wealth of experience, the scouse striker spent twelve years at Liverpool before moving on to Yeovil Town.
Garner said: โFor us to bring a player like that in at this stage of the season, itโs a great move for us and it can only be a positive thing really.
โLetโs hope he comes in and bangs a few goals in for us!โ
Town have struggled in form recently, but Garner thinks their disappointing FA Cup exit could be a โblessing in disguiseโ: โWeโve had a chat and I think we really need to concentrate on the league, getting as many points as possible and moving up the table. We need to string a good few wins together again.
โI think if you actually look, weโve got games in hand so weโre not really in a bad position, we just need to up our performances and standards, and start performing for each other now.โ
Manager Billy Heath has come under a level of scrutiny in recent weeks, but Garner says that the team is โconfidentโ theyโll bounce back and get on track in the league. He said the gaffer has been working hard with the team on the training pitch: โWeโve been doing some good sessions in training, going through set pieces and all the little extra things.
โWhen itโs not quite going your way at times, youโve got to get the little percentages that you can add up and win you games really.โ
Despite being confident, Garner conceded that Town havenโt been hitting the levels expected of them. On the AFC Telford United result last weekend, Garner said: โThe Telford goal the other day, to stick it in the top corner from 25-30 yardsโฆ Nine out of ten times its going straight over the bar, but for it to go into the top corner, you just think โoh, Godโ.โ
โBut then it was down to us to have the game out of sight, and we didnโt really perform up to the levels we should have on the day, but Iโm sure we will in the future.โ
โWe rescued a point in the end, but itโs not good enough at home. Now weโve got to go into two big Boxing Day and New Yearโs Day games really going for it and get a good return.โ
FC Halifax Town face Darlington FC at The Darlington Arena on Boxing Day, kick-off is 3:00pm and if you canโt make it, you can catch full audio coverage on Shaymen Player HD from 2:45pm, as well as full match updates on the Shaymen Wall and our official Twitter account, @FCHTOnline.
Read more posts by Kelly Gilchrist