Following Tuesday night’s postponement of the FA Trophy clash with Macclesfield Town, FC Halifax Town can now shift their focus to the visit of Chester FC, as Michael Collins looks to make his home debut for Town.
The midfielder, who has signed an eighteen month contract with Billy Heath’s side, has been made to wait for his first appearance at the MBi Shay Stadium following the delays to the FA Trophy fixture.
Although, with all being well, this weekend’s visit of Chester should see Collins grace his hometown pitch in a Town shirt for the first time, and despite the challenges they bring, he insists that he is ready to work hard for another positive result.
“Like a lot of teams in this division, they will be disciplined and hard-working. I experienced Marcus Bignot when he was at Grimsby in my Leyton Orient days and his Grimsby side at the time were well drilled, it was certainly a tough game. I expect nothing less.
“This is a lovely ground so sometimes, when clubs come here, they will want to have a go. They may be down in the relegation spots but you see in football that a few wins can completely change the picture. It should be a really good game and one we should approach with caution, but we will be ready for it.
“It is always better to play in front of the home fans because it gives you a boost, so I am looking forward to it and I am confident we will get a good result”.
After being announced as a Shayman prior to the game at Aldershot, Collins had the chance to instantly prove himself, as Heath handed him a full 90-minute debut.
In the end, it turned out to be a pretty decent first game to say the least, as Town ended their eleven game winless run in the league thanks to Scott McManus’ first half strike. For Collins, it was a good day all round, both individually and as a team.
“The lads had been on a disappointing run beforehand so we travelled down there in need of a positive result, and to get the win was really pleasing. On the day we deserved it, they had a lot of the ball but they didn’t cause us too many problems in the final third.
“Our goal might have been a bit lucky with the mistake from the keeper but you take them sometimes, especially in those sorts of games when you are disciplined, you earn your luck.
“Performance-wise I thought was fine, I was a bit rusty on the ball sometimes but that will come back once I train and play more. I am happy with how it went so it is certainly a platform to build on”.
The win has restored a lot of positivity around the club, as the busy festive period looms over us. The last of the pre-Christmas fixtures will be ever more important to local lad Collins, as he will finally experience the Shay’s unique atmosphere from the pitch rather than the stands.
“Obviously, I lived and grew up in the town so it is more of a special feeling for me. I am excited to get down here, I have been to games here and experienced it from the stands but it is different when you are out on the pitch.
“Now I’m looking forward to making my home debut, hopefully we can carry on the good start that we had at Aldershot and get another win on the board”.
If you cannot make it to the Chester game then there will be live match updates along with commentary available on the club website.
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