FC Halifax Town are potentially just one victory away from the Vanarama National League North play-off final after a 1-1 draw with Salford City on Wednesday night. A bumper Shaymen following made the trip to Moor Lane to see Richard Peniket delightfully put the visitors ahead in the first half, before James Poole salvaged an equaliser with only a few minutes left.
The two club’s attention now turns to this Sunday when they meet again at the Shay to determine who shall face either Kidderminster Harriers or Chorley FC in the final that decides who is promoted with AFC Fylde to the National League. Ahead of this Sunday’s huge match-up, we spoke to Kevin Roberts, who firstly looked back at the enthralling match in mid-week…
“It was a good point for us. Two teams who were good battling it out. It was a result we would have taken before the game.”
One of the highlights for Kevin was also the vocal support himself and his teammates received from the always-fantastic Halifax fanbase. The away end at Moor Lane was bouncing for the majority of the ninety minutes, and Roberts is hoping for an even more electric atmosphere on Sunday afternoon…
“Yeah the fans were unbelievable, and there were only 600 of them. And if we can manage to quadruple that for the home game, they really can be our 12th man.”
Wednesday’s game was quite an epic, as well as two goals; both teams were also denied by the woodwork. Michael Nottingham struck the base of the left hand post, before minutes later, Nathan Hotte’s sweetly struck volley clattered against the crossbar. Salford put in a good fight to grab a late equaliser, but Roberts hopes the Shaymen are just too much to handle in the second leg…
“I think Wednesday was probably them near enough at 100%. But I think when we get on our own pitch, we can find another gear and hopefully that will be the situation.”
With no away goals rule, and the 1-1 draw at Moor Lane in the first leg, it really is all to play for at the Shay. With the home advantage, Kevin is confident of reaching the final, mainly because of the strength Halifax have in their armour. ..
“You could say we have the advantage, but I think our squad is looking really strong as well, strong within. We are quite confident. We have a lot of players available who can do damage. We’ve got people like Adam Morgan on the bench who’s scored about 20 goals this season. Dion Charles is another one, and people in the stands like Jake Hibbs who can’t get near the bench, so it’s looking good.”
As mentioned, Halifax could potentially be just one win away from a play-off final. Kevin hopes the squad can keep that thought to the back of their minds until after the Salford game…
“We’ve just got to take each game as it comes to be honest. We’ve just got one game in front of us and we’ve just got to be nice and confident as I’ve said, and the squad looks strong.”
FC Halifax Town face Salford City this Sunday, at 3pm.
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