FC Halifax Town head to National League side Dagenham and Redbridge in the first-round proper of the FA Cup on Saturday afternoon.
As we gear up for the clash, we look at some of the former Shaymen who have also wore the red and blue of the Daggers.
Tall centre-half, Martin Filson joined AFC Halifax from Stalybridge Celtic, where he was fan-favourite, in 1993. Filson struggled initially in West Yorkshire as a regular on the bench who was awarded a red card on his full-debut against Slough.
Nevertheless, Town fans were shown a glimpse of Filson’s passion and courage when, against his former club, he heroically cleared a goal bound effort off the line and away to safety.
Filson then moved on to Dagenham and Redbridge, a club so far from his professional life that he could travel to training daily and bizarrely trained with former club Stalybridge in the week and played for Dagenham on weekends.
Filson returned to the Celts and retired in 2001, being sent off in his final game.
Another player to feature for both sides was striker Lee Wilson. Wilson received local and even national media attention when he became the first person to play for Mansfield Town and Manfield Cricket club.
Wilson joined Halifax from Dagenham and Redbridge in 1995, failing to score from the five league appearances he made before moving on to Tamworth.
After retirement Wilson went on to manager several non-league clubs such as Sutton United and Shepshed Dynamo.
Our third and final feature player ahead of this week’s clash is former Bradford Park Avenue manager, Alex Meechan.
From midfield, Meechan scored 33 goals over three seasons for Forest Green Rovers earning him a move to the Daggers where he failed to make the same impact. 16 appearances later and he was back with Forest Green, a side he would accumulate over 200 appearances for across his career.
Meechan joined Halifax Town in 2004 from Leigh RMI but was released after just 8 appearances and 1 goal, before joining Forest Green again straight after.
The Shaymen will meet the Daggers at Victoria Road on Saturday.
Complete list of players who have featured for both sides (not exhaustive): Martin Filson, Deniol Graham, Jimmy Hallybone, Alex Meechan, Dominic Naylor, Paul Pettinger, Steve Prindiville, Simon Thompson, Lee Wilson, Gary Worthington.
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