Ryton v FC Halifax Town: FA Cup trip into the unknown for Town
Published Date:
12 September 2008
By Dave Fletcher
FC Halifax Town take a step into the unknown when they travel to Ryton in the first qualifying round of the FA Cup tomorrow.
It will be the first ever meeting between a Halifax side and the Northern League outfit who were only formed in 1970.
And while Jim Vince's side will be firm favourites to progress, they face a Ryton side enjoying its best ever run in the competition.
They have already triumphed in two ties to get this far, winning 2-0 at Morpeth in the extra preliminary round and Billingham Synthonia in the preliminary round.
And that is real progress for the team that plays in the nearby village of Crawcrook as they had not won an FA Cup tie in two attempts prior to this season.
Their first appearance in the competition in 2006 ended in a 2-0 preliminary round replay defeat at home to Newcastle Benfield and last year they went down 4-3 at home to Silsden one stage earlier.
Town beat Silsden - at the second attempt - to reach this stage and will be looking to make further progress for the prestige and the cash, with a further £3,000 up for grabs for tomorrow's winners.
One thing is certain, the Shaymen will have to improve on Tuesday night's display at Mossley where they were at their worst in a 3-1 defeat.
Town ought to have done much better at Seel Park, especially having taken the lead after just 25 seconds through Adam Morning.
But they failed to capitalise on their lightning start and subsided in the second half when they failed to make any impression on their hosts.
Ryton were also in league action in midweek, losing 4-2 at West Allotment Celtic on Wednesday evening.
That was their fifth Northern League game of the season and, like the Shaymen, they have managed just one win.
It came against Billingham Synthonia a few days after the sides had met in the Cup.
With important home league games coming up against Warrington Town next Tuesday and Salford City a week tomorrow, Town could do with a bit of a morale booster on Tyneside.
And so could the fans.
The full article contains 379 words and appears in n/a newspaper.
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Last Updated:
12 September 2008 9:41 AM
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Source:
n/a
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Location:
Halifax