Harrogate Town are set to be the next team to face an in form FC Halifax Town. Four wins out of four for the Shaymen has made them one of the teams that no one wanted to face in this round of the FA Cup and Billy Heath’s men will travel to Wetherby Road full of confidence.
The two clubs have had a number of player connections in the past, and here is just a few of them:
Former Shaymen favourite and current Millwall striker Lee Gregory has graced both the MBi Shay Stadium and Wetherby Road. Although better known by Halifax fans as the man who signed for the club in 2011 and went on to make over 100 appearances, Gregory also spent time on loan with Harrogate Town.
A Macclesfield Town player at the time, the now League One striker failed to really impress for Harrogate and was swiftly moved out on another loan deal. This time to Halifax Town where his career flourished.
A man who both played and managed for the two teams is Neil Aspin. The current manager of Gateshead managed Halifax as recently as 2015, a reign that stretched back to 2009. In what is considered to be a lengthy spell in charge of a club in today’s climate, Aspin also spent a prolonged period of time in charge of Harrogate Town controlling the helm at Wetherby Road for four years.
The former Leeds United player played for Harrogate Town for three years before swiftly taking up management there in 2005. He left the club to take charge of FC Halifax Town where he played himself in a small number of games in his early 40’s.
Finally, the last figure we will be looking at will be Joe Ironside. The Shaymen faithful may remember him as the promising young striker who came on loan from Sheffield United when he was just a teenager.
Sheffield were keen to see him develop in the lower leagues of football but Ironside never really hit the ground running at the Shay only managing to score twice in 10 league games. Harrogate then took him on loan in the same year with both parties hoping that the now 22-year old would hit form but again he never quite managed to impress.
He now plays for Alfreton Town after he finally managed to score a consistent amount of goals with the club and subsequently convinced them to make the deal a permanent one from Sheffield United.
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