This Saturday sees the visit of Gloucester City to the MBi Shay Stadium with Town looking to improve on their impressive home form. The Shaymen are unbeaten in their last eight home games, having not lost a league game since Brackley came to Town on the 29th of October.
With some 167 miles separating the two sides, there hasn’t been much to connect the two over the years – in fact, you have to go back over 35 years to find someone who has played for both Halifax and Gloucester.
That player is David Gwyther, who made 104 appearances for the Shaymen between 1973 and 1976, scoring 24 goals, after signing from Swansea. Gwyther would later go on to be a part of the Newport side which made it to the quarter-finals of European Cup Winner’s Cup. `It was another four years before Gwyther found himself at Gloucester, where he would apply his trade for the 1983-84 season, making 50 appearances for the Tigers.
The only other player to represent the Shaymen and the Tigers is Alan Waddle. The graduate of the prestigious Wallsend Boys Club would make 39 appearances for Halifax between 1971 and 1973, before departing for Liverpool where he would make 16 appearances.
Perhaps Waddle’s best moment at the Shay, was during his final appearance with the club. Yes, on the final day of the 1972-1973 season Waddle scored the only goal of a 1-0 win away at Walsall, a result which meant that Town avoided relegation to division four by goal difference alone.
After Waddle left Liverpool he too found himself in a Newport side featuring David Gwyther before being released and going to Gloucester in 1982. His time would be short at Gloucester, before being signed for Mansfield Town.
A final mention goes to Lee Gregory, who, as many will remember, bagged himself four goals in a 5-0 demolition here at the Shay in 2012 (one of two times he would do so at the club) – the game is also notable for seeing the quickest goal scored by FC Halifax Town, with Jon Worthington scoring after only 25 seconds.
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