FC Halifax Town continue on the road this weekend after a disappointing 1-0 defeat at the hands of Alfreton Town in a twice-rearranged Tuesday night fixture. Next up is the shorter trip to contest a Yorkshire derby with Bradford Park Avenue, a side still battling the drop whilst the Shaymen look to reinforce a playoff place.
Park Avenue fan Tom Hill gives his views on the match and his team’s season.
What have you made of Park Avenue so far this season?
It has improved, that’s for sure. We never even won in the league until late October against the bottom side, which is hugely disappointing. In just over a month we had lost I think nine league games in a row and been knocked out the FA Cup. It’s good that we’ve managed to turn things around a fair bit and get out the drop zone.
Did you think you were doomed after going so long without winning a game?
We had to consider it, yes. Even the most positive out of us were fearing not just certain relegation, but complete embarrassment. Luckily, come November-time we picked up some decent results. After being bottom of the league for so long, we’ve got right out of jail when you consider how far Altrincham and Stalybridge are off the pace now – it’s so easy to get pulled into trouble.
So it’s been a real mixed bag of results, then…?
Yes, we’re definitely not out of it yet, we won three in a row recently but then lost to Gloucester last weekend, which keeps us two points above the drop with a game in hand, I believe. One strange thing is, we’ve managed only four draws this season, and three of those were our first three games. Even if we can change some of those defeats into a point, that can prove the difference down there.
The reverse fixture was a 4-0 Halifax win at The Shay, need I ask your thoughts?
That was the last of our long losing run. We felt we might not have recovered after that. Halifax were all over us, it was comfortable and not nice for us with them being a Yorkshire rival.
Who have been your stand-out players of late?
Ones to watch would probably be Nicky Wroe and Danny Boshell. Wroe was obviously signed from Halifax, so their fans will know quite a bit about him. He’s very good on the ball in midfield, can tuck away a penalty and he’s a good leader who has played at a very high level. Boshell is another experienced player who has done his years in league football. He’s another astute midfielder who we brought in from Guiseley in the summer.
What’s your score prediction for Saturday?
I’ll stick my head out and be positive here. Halifax were beaten on the road by Alfreton this week and Stalybridge as well, and tend to fare better against sides around them. I’ll go with 2-1 to the Avenue – Nicky Wroe scoring against his old club. We need to keep fighting for every point.
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