Following a hectic December schedule and a loss to Tamworth, FC Halifax Town had a chance to recuperate when their match against Salisbury was called off. For the first time, in a long time, Town will be fresh going into a Saturday clash, this time they do battle with the Dragons, Wrexham.
The last outing for the Shaymen resulted in a 2-0 defeat to (at the time) third-bottom Tamworth and was, according to Matty Glennon, one of Town’s worst days of the season: “Getting beat by Tamworth was horrific on Saturday, a horrible game, but we still could’ve picked up a few points.”
With the Salisbury game called off, the 35-year-old stopper has had some time to reflect on Town’s lucrative festive period: “There’s nothing more depressing than January if you’ve not won any games over Christmas, so it’s great.
“We played a lot of full-time teams over Christmas and the Gateshead games were very draining because of the way they play football, having to run and chase and fight with everything we’ve got. Then Forest Green, who are a club supposedly going places with a massive squad, I think we’ve done really well.”
Come Saturday, Halifax will be travelling just over the border into Wales, where they meet 13th placed Wrexham at their 15+ thousand capacity stadium Y Cae Ras, or The Racecourse Ground for those of you unfamiliar with the Welsh language.
The reverse fixture was a thrilling affair which ticked all the boxes of a classic Conference game of football including 5 goals, a comeback and a sending off. That 3-2 win for the Shaymen proved to be huge as they were facing Wrexham on the back of a 5-1 defeat and two red cards at Cambridge.
Glennon, one of the men who missed out on the first clash due to suspension thinks that game showed everyone else in the league that Halifax are serious: “It shows that we are a good side. To bounce back after losing 5-1 against Cambridge where myself and Lowey were sent off, we came back the next game against a big club and we got the win, so hopefully we can do it again.
“We need to get off early doors. When we are on our game we can get a few straight away, if we do that and put them under pressure their crowd will turn and there’ll be a big crowd there. When the crowd starts to turn they’ll get nervous and that’s how we end up winning a lot of our football matches at the minute.”
Although he missed out on the first affair between the two teams, Glennon knows and appreciates just how important it’ll be to slay the Dragons for the second time this season: “We know they’ve done well at home, but for a side that’s as big as them to be sitting 13th in the league, it’s not what their manager expects.
“It would be fantastic, what a result for the team if we beat them away on Saturday, which we are more than capable of doing.”
“If we can get their backs turned over early doors and counter them when they come at us, I think we’ll be alright.
Manager Neil Aspin had previously said that he wanted 50 points from the season, 50 points would be enough to secure safety. But the team are in a position where they will find themselves on 45 points mid-January with a weekend win over Wrexham. First choice keeper Glennon doesn’t think that the team should let this alter their season-long goals, but admits that they have now got the bit between their teeth: “We want to stay in those positions you know? I have a lot of people coming in my shop and they’re like – Ah you’re fifth, you’re fifth!
“It’s a great feeling to be fifth in the league after getting promoted last year, I mean you see Chester who ran away with our league, they’re third bottom. You know, we’ve scored 40-odd goals at home, we’ve been entertaining, and we’ve played good football.
“I’d love to finish as high as we can!”
Let’s hope Halifax can come back from Wrexham with all three points. If you are unable to get to the game then fear not, as always the media team have your back. With live radio commentary and match highlights available on Shaymen Player and live updates available via Twitter and the Shaymen Wall you won’t miss out on any action.
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