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Altrincham – LLLDL
FC Halifax Town- LWWWD
The old cliché ‘you should never judge a game on paper’ is a ruling every football fanatic continues to disobey, however looking at the stats heading into Saturday’s clash, it’s difficult not to be confident. Our opponents slumped at the bottom of the league with only one victory to show from 27 games and a goal difference of -42.
Billy Heath’s side head into this fixture after an impressive turnaround in results since the 1-0 against Stalybridge Celtic – 10 points from the last four games (one more than Altrincham’s total tally for the season) against fellow promotion candidates has seen a positive atmosphere return around the club and amongst supporters.
With Alfreton’s clash now scheduled for March, victory in that game in hand would slot the Shaymen into the final play-off positon of 5th place, providing they at least match the results of sides around them.
The goals have been flying in for Halifax – 10 in the last three games, with Adam Morgan and Matty Kosylo rampant in front of goal in recent weeks, each netting four in as many games.
For Altrincham, they’ve struggled to lead games – only managing to be in front for 19 minutes in 2017 so far. Nicky Glee stunned Brackley when they faced each other last week –opening the scoring inside 10 minutes. However, James Armson levelled the scoring, meaning Altrincham have taken two points out of a possible 18 in the calendar year.
Previous Fixture
All signs are pointing for a Shaymen victory, however one must remember our previous meeting at the MBI Shay at the beginning of the season, which resulted in a 2-2 draw, as a reminder not to underestimate lower league opponents.
Jordan Sinnott needed to pull off a stunning strike to rescue a point in the final ten minutes to rescue a point, and it looks like we could see him return to action after suffering a heavy ankle injury in the FA Cup Replay vs Eastleigh.
One to Watch
Altrincham’s top scorer for 2017 is not who you would immediately leap to in striker James Lawrie. Despite netting seven for the season, its defender Andrew Owens who leads the golden boot chart for 2017 currently with two. His first goal for the club came on New Year’s Day to earn his side a point away to FC United of Manchester, having gone behind inside 60 seconds.
Match Officials:
Referee: Declan Bourne
Assistant Referees: Kristian Silcock, Andrew Dean and George Dallison
Directions
J.DAVIDSON STADIUM, Moss Ln, Hale, Altrincham WA15 8AP
Follow the game:
Full match commentary will be available from Moss Lane on Shaymen Player.
Match updates will also be available on the Shaymen Wall as well as the club’s official Twitter feed. (https://twitter.com/FCHTOnline)
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