Following a busy yet positive Bank Holiday weekend, the Shaymen are nicely settling themselves into the Vanarama National League. However, there is no time to rest as AFC Fylde make the trip to the MBi Shay Stadium, a test that Tom Denton cannot wait for.
The striker, who opened his account for the season in the home defeat to Dover Athletic, has been highly praised by manager Billy Heath for his last two performances against Guiseley and Gateshead, mainly due to his aerial distribution.
Considering this, Denton is keen to repeat this good work when the Coasters pay a visit to West Yorkshire and is confident that a good result could be on the cards, despite the threat that these familiar opponents present.
“I have played Fylde a few times and always played well against them in the past. Obviously, it will be another tough game but we are back at home. Hopefully the fans will get behind us, like they always do, and we can get another three points at home.
“If we had won at Gateshead we would have been in the top half of the table with Fylde so a win on Saturday could put us there. If you can get a run of two or three wins together then we will fly up this table, anyone can beat anyone in this league so it is interesting”.
As interesting as this league may be, it has also been showing its early signs of how demanding the next few months will be for the Shaymen.
The August Bank Holiday weekend saw two games played over the long weekend, as Town recorded a 2-0 win and a 0-0 draw despite the risks of fatigue potentially looming over the players. Although the two games have taken their toll on the lads, Denton believes this will not be an issue going into Saturday.
“Obviously there was always going to be some tiredness after the busy weekend but we will rest and recover. We have training on Thursday then it is just looking forward to the game, I think everyone will be ready and raring to go come Saturday afternoon”.
The ever-positive Denton is clearly brimming with confidence following a productive weekend on the pitch. Despite the 0-0 score line in Gateshead, the Shaymen were not lacking in terms of chances, and could easily have been a goal to the good at half time.
Obviously, it is always nice to gain three points rather than one, but there were still plenty of positives to take away from the Gateshead International Stadium, and Denton believes this will stand them in good stead when looking for their third win of the season next time out.
“It was a good point to gain in the end, considering we were down to ten men for most of the second half. The first half, obviously, we hit the post twice and Scott McManus went clean through so we probably could have won it in the end.
“We would have taken a draw going into the busy weekend, and four points from two games is a good return.
“It was a good game and I thought we were the better team, like we have been in most games this season. This will give us confidence again and now we can look forward to getting back to the Shay on Saturday looking for a win”.
There will be live updates of this weekend’s game against Fylde available on the club website, along with live commentary on Shaymen Audio.
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