FC Halifax Town’s season rolls back into town following Thursday night’s excursion to Chester, to face a Braintree side that’s played just six times since the return fixture on November 23rd. Braintree will have their tails up knowing Town lost before the weekend, but the Shaymen’s home form has been nothing short of imperious.
Team News:
Danny Lowe inches ever-closer to his return from injury, and Ryan Toulson isn’t far behind him. In more definite news, Matty Pearson, undoubtedly buoyed by another England C call-up, is eligible to take a place in the starting line-up following his two-game suspension.
Current Form:
At home, as has been the case almost all season, Town are unbeatable. Salisbury were the latest recipient of a 5-1 smashing, with Lee Gregory collecting the match-ball for another hat-trick. That followed a Cambridge 1-1 draw, where either side could have snatched a late winner, which in turn followed a glut of eight goals in two games against Gateshead and Lincoln. (Ed: The entire season has been something of a ‘glut’, with 46 goals in 17 home games to date, a whopping 2.7 gpg average!)
Key Man:
Dan Holman has netted four times in his nineteen appearances so far for Braintree, including twice at Chester in early December (three games ago) and will be one to watch. Holman was substituted with 13 minutes to go in November, but registered two of the Essex club’s shots before Davis’ penalty. (Holman is also the key man for this fixture because I incorrectly referred to him as ‘Dean’ earlier in the season.)
Down the Years:
Braintree have come out with three points 100% of the time in the meetings between the sides, winning once (1 in the league), losing none, and drawing none.
Last Meeting:
Marc Roberts conceded a penalty just after the hour mark which skipper Davis tucked into the roof of the net and took the spoils. Other than that, there was little of note to report in the game, with the referee stamping his authority on the game with continual blowing on his whistle, breaking up any play that either side tried to create. Final score: Braintree 1-0 Halifax.
Officials:
Referee: Richard Wigglesworth
Assistants: Matthew Pope & Joseph Johnson
Fourth Official: Luke Watson
There will be live coverage of the game courtesy of our media team who will provide updates via the Shaymen Wall and live audio commentary via Shaymen Player. There will also be extended match highlights from the game and exclusive interviews with Neil Aspin and his men on Shaymen Player following the game.
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