You may think that after FC Halifax Town’s away trip to Salford on Tuesday, there’s a gruelling wait until the weekend before they get back to the pitch. However, the Shaymen will return to action the following day, with the youth team facing Staveley Miners Welfare in the 2016/17 FA Youth Cup.
The MBi Shay Stadium will host the fixture which sees senior team striker Jordan Burrow make his managerial debut as he takes his place in the opposition dugout on Wednesday evening.
We asked Youth Team Head Coach Mark Trueman for his thoughts going into the game…
“I think it’s going to be a test, it’s the first competitive game of the season for us really. We’ve had a good pre-season, but going into this game it’s 50-50 for me. If we play at the level we’re at, we should win the game but we can’t go into the game thinking it’s going to be easy game. We’ve got to perform on the day.”
With the familiar face of Jordan Burrow taking charge of Staveley during the summer, Trueman expects the first team forward to be looking to gain some inside knowledge on the Shaymen’s youth squad members…
“I think Jordan’s been speaking to some of the lads who have come up through the youth team and gone into the first team, and I think he’s been asking about our strengths and weaknesses. Obviously they’ll try to exploit that, but I think that if we play to our ability, we should have more strengths than them to get though the game. We’re not too worried about what they think; it’s what we do on the day. If we perform well we should come away with the victory”
As well as the game giving Halifax the chance to advance in the tournament, it’s also an opportunity for the players to showcase their skills to the devoted fans, as well as some senior members who may be keeping a close eye on their progression…
“I think the end goal for us is to bring players through the youth team into the first team. People like Ross Barrows, who’s done really well. Shiraz Khan as well; they had a really good FA Youth Cup and a good season last year and hopefully our lads are going to take inspiration from them and try and perform in the youth cup, have a good youth cup run and then hopefully do enough to get a contract at the club. It’s a good incentive for us; it’s a good competition and a big competition for the club, as well as the players. Hopefully the chairman or the first team manager will be watching the game and will be able to see the strength and depth we’ve got coming through the youth team”
And as for Halifax’s chances in the cup, Trueman reverts to a classic cliché…
“We’re going to take it one game at a time. It’s a little bit too early to tell how far we can go. I’ve set us the goal of the First Round Proper and we’re going to put all energy and time into preparing for the game on Wednesday.”
FC Halifax Town’s FA Youth Cup campaign begins this Wednesday at 7:30pm.
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