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Darlington: Preview

Posted by Kelly Gilchrist
Posted on Fri 23 Dec 2016
Posted in First Team

FC Halifax Town fans will be hoping for a late Christmas present from their club on Boxing Day in the form of three points. Halifax travel north to Blackwell Meadows in a festive National League North clash against Darlington 1883. The 5thย place Quakers host 9thย placed Shaymen at Blackwell Meadows in the first of back-to-back fixtures between the two teams.

Current Form:

The last month hasnโ€™t been a pleasant one for Halifax, as they still search for victory after seven games without a win; their last one coming ago against Dagenham & Redbridge in the FA Cup in mid-November. Josh Wilde could salvage a point last time out against AFC Telford United, but it still means Halifax find themselves four points off the play-offs. With two games in hand over the teams above the Shaymen in the table, minus Brackley, the next couple of games for the Shaymen will be crucial in their bid for promotion. Darlington also havenโ€™t recorded a victory in seven games, five of those being in the league. Their most recent game ended in defeat to the hands of Kidderminster Harriers, and they also bowed out of the FA Trophy to Marine earlier this month.

FC Halifax Town:DLLDLDย 

Darlington 1883:ย DLDDLL

Key Man:

Despite the Quakers recent dip in form, one man to keep your eye out for at Blackwell Meadows is striker, Mark Beck. With 9 goals in 19 league appearances, 22-year-old Beck sits joint-sixth in the leagueโ€™s goal scoring chart and has helped his team become the second-highest scoring team in the league behind AFC Fylde. The former Scotland U19 international joined from Yeovil at the start of the season, after starting his career at Carlisle United.

Last Meeting:

The current Darlington club, which was formed in 2012, has never played against the current Halifax club; however, both previous clubs have, back in 2002. It was April Foolโ€™s Day, but no Halifax fans were laughing at the end of the game as they watched the Shaymen succumb to a 5-0 defeat to Darlington in the 2001/02 Football League Third Division campaign (nowadays, Football League Two). Darlington finished 15thย that season, while Halifax finished rock bottom, relegated to the Football Conference.

Match Officials:

Referee:Paul Brown

Assistant Referees:Stephen Dial, Christopher Keightly.

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Follow the game:
There will be full match commentary on Shaymen Player.ย 

Match updates will also be available on the Shaymen Wall as well as the clubโ€™s official Twitter feed. (https://twitter.com/FCHTOnline)ย 

Shaymen Player will also have full match commentary from the game as well as extended match highlights from the game, as well as all the reaction from Billy Heath and the rest of the camp.

Read more posts by Kelly Gilchrist

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