Halifax Town FA Trophy Preview
By John Newsome January 11 2004
The Blues look for a repeat performance against Halifax as they take on their rivals from Yorkshire for the third time this season, this time in the FA Trophy.
The Blues look for a repeat performance against Halifax as they take on their rivals from Yorkshire for the third time this season, this time in the FA Trophy.
A break from the promotion race it may be, but the pressure is still on for the Blues tomorrow as they take on Halifax Town in the FA Trophy. Chairman Stephen Vaughan is in no mood to see a repeat of City’s early FA Cup exit and the loss of revenue it entailed, and the £200,000 pay check that would come with a successful trophy campaign is a target he believes to be achievable.
Vaughan is set to provide the pretext to City’s latest Trophy campaign by commenting on the club’s financial position in tomorrow’s ‘Deva Review’ Matchday Programme, and will outline just how important it is, in that context, to progress as far as possible in non-league’s premier cup competition. The Chester squad have made impressive progress since their last cup failure, which came courtesy of a dismal 0-1 defeat against Gravesend and Northfleet. But they will remember Vaughan’s decision to enter the dressing room and blast the team for their performance himself on that occasion, and will wish to avoid a repeat come five o’ clock tomorrow evening.
Chester’s record in this tournament does not make fantastic reading. In their first season in non-league, they managed to reach the semi-final stage by beating a Southport side managed by Mark Wright and containing Phil Bolland and Scott Guyett in the quarter-final. But they faltered over two legs against Essex outfit Canvey Island the following month. A year later Wright was in charge at the Deva, but this time Burton Albion proved to be a bridge too far.
On this weekend last season there was controversy as the third round tie against Worksop Town was started, but then called off midway through the first half due to a frozen pitch. The fans were left short changed, and their mood was not helped later in the week when the match was finally completed, and City were dumped out of the competition after a 1-2 defeat. The game, incidentally, marked the end of Martyn Lancaster’s Chester City career, after several years’ service.
And so it can be noted that in all three of their Trophy campaigns, the Blues have eventually been defeated by opposition from lower leagues. This could prove a peculiar source of confidence as they enter their third round tie against fellow Conference side Halifax Town at the Deva tomorrow, although in truth they only need look back at the sides two previous meetings the season in order to seek inspiration. Two of City’s best performances of the whole season have come in those games, defeating the Yorkshiremen 2-0 and 0-3 and playing some of their most free-flowing attacking football in the process.
The Shaymen’s boss will be hoping to see some of City’s key players rested in this latest encounter. He tipped the club for promotion after the Deva clash in September, and is unlikely to have altered his opinion since then. Regardless, Halifax are still a side capable of causing an upset of sorts, especially if the City players drop below the high standards they have set themselves. In the light of Vaughan’s comments this week, and the way such a policy backfired last season, it is uncertain as to whether Mark Wright will seek to rest some of his top performers. However, it would be a surprise to see an unchanged line-up, given the secondary nature of all other targets to promotion this season. Using players on the fringe of the first team, such as Ben Davies and Phil Bolland, could be a profitable approach given that they will be especially keen to impress and win back a place in the side.
Vaughan is set to provide the pretext to City’s latest Trophy campaign by commenting on the club’s financial position in tomorrow’s ‘Deva Review’ Matchday Programme, and will outline just how important it is, in that context, to progress as far as possible in non-league’s premier cup competition. The Chester squad have made impressive progress since their last cup failure, which came courtesy of a dismal 0-1 defeat against Gravesend and Northfleet. But they will remember Vaughan’s decision to enter the dressing room and blast the team for their performance himself on that occasion, and will wish to avoid a repeat come five o’ clock tomorrow evening.
Chester’s record in this tournament does not make fantastic reading. In their first season in non-league, they managed to reach the semi-final stage by beating a Southport side managed by Mark Wright and containing Phil Bolland and Scott Guyett in the quarter-final. But they faltered over two legs against Essex outfit Canvey Island the following month. A year later Wright was in charge at the Deva, but this time Burton Albion proved to be a bridge too far.
On this weekend last season there was controversy as the third round tie against Worksop Town was started, but then called off midway through the first half due to a frozen pitch. The fans were left short changed, and their mood was not helped later in the week when the match was finally completed, and City were dumped out of the competition after a 1-2 defeat. The game, incidentally, marked the end of Martyn Lancaster’s Chester City career, after several years’ service.
And so it can be noted that in all three of their Trophy campaigns, the Blues have eventually been defeated by opposition from lower leagues. This could prove a peculiar source of confidence as they enter their third round tie against fellow Conference side Halifax Town at the Deva tomorrow, although in truth they only need look back at the sides two previous meetings the season in order to seek inspiration. Two of City’s best performances of the whole season have come in those games, defeating the Yorkshiremen 2-0 and 0-3 and playing some of their most free-flowing attacking football in the process.
The Shaymen’s boss will be hoping to see some of City’s key players rested in this latest encounter. He tipped the club for promotion after the Deva clash in September, and is unlikely to have altered his opinion since then. Regardless, Halifax are still a side capable of causing an upset of sorts, especially if the City players drop below the high standards they have set themselves. In the light of Vaughan’s comments this week, and the way such a policy backfired last season, it is uncertain as to whether Mark Wright will seek to rest some of his top performers. However, it would be a surprise to see an unchanged line-up, given the secondary nature of all other targets to promotion this season. Using players on the fringe of the first team, such as Ben Davies and Phil Bolland, could be a profitable approach given that they will be especially keen to impress and win back a place in the side.
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