Almost a year to the day since their last visit to Plainmoor, FC Halifax Town provide the opposition on Saturday, as Gary Johnson’s side look to impress in front of the BT Sport cameras.
Connor Lemonheigh-Evans’ strike sealed victory at The Shay back in November, however whilst United will be looking to secure a first ‘double’ of 2020/21 tomorrow, Town’s FA Trophy success here last season provides a recent source of happy memories for Halifax, that they will be seeking to draw inspiration from.
Who’s The Boss?
Pete Wild was appointed as Halifax manager in July 2019, following the departure of previous boss Jamie Fullarton. A decade at Oldham Athletic saw Pete serve the club admirably in a number of roles, with the highlight coming as he masterminded a 1-0 FA Cup win over Premier League side Fulham during his spell in caretaker charge.
After securing an unexpected play-off place for The Shayman last time out, Wild will be looking for his side to go one step further this term.
How Have They Been Doing?
Halifax have been anything but predictable so far this campaign, with their 21 fixtures resulting in seven wins, six draws and eight defeats. Although last Tuesday’s 2-1 defeat at struggling Barnet provided further proof of the division’s unrivalled ability to continually produce surprising scorelines, Town’s tally of 27 points from 21 games leaves them within striking distance of a top-seven place, with plenty of the season still to be played.
Player To Watch
Jake Hyde seems to be one of those players that relishes playing against the men in yellow, and has been a valuable goal threat wherever he has been during his career. Spells at Barnet (twice), Dundee, York, Maidenhead and Woking are just a few of the clubs to have benefitted from his reliable form in front of goal. After making his first appearance in two months as a substitute in the defeat at Barnet, Hyde will be looking forward to reacquainting himself with familiar adversaries once more at Plainmoor.
Played For Both
Although Danny Racchi was only at Plainmoor for a short while – following an even briefer period at FC Halifax some months earlier – his performances for Kevin Nicholson’s side towards the end of 2015/16 went a long way to securing United’s National League status. After beginning his career at Huddersfield Town, Racchi went on to represent the likes of Bury and York prior to a spell in the Scottish top flight with Kilmarnock, with a stint in Iceland with Valur also preceding his return to the English game with Hyde.
After departing South Devon in 2016, Danny gained many more admirers playing for FC United of Manchester and Grantham Town amongst others, with the latter club seeing him take to the dugout for a short spell as joint-caretaker manager.
Previous Encounter
Ade Azeez marked his second loan debut for The Gulls in perfect fashion on Town’s last visit to Plainmoor, as his second-half header proved to be the pivotal moment in United’s 1-0 win over FC Halifax on 22nd February 2020. Azeez had made a similar impact during his first spell in a Torquay shirt, netting as a substitute in a 1-2 defeat at Newport nearly seven years earlier.
Having taken six points off Wild’s men in 2019/20, the Yellow Army will be hoping history repeats itself in front of the watching nation tomorrow.
In association with LV BET
With Saturday’s match at Plainmoor being selected for live coverage on BT Sport, the Club can confirm that we are therefore unable to offer our usual livestream service to supporters for this fixture. We will, however, continue to provide live coverage of the match via TUFC Radio here