FC Halifax Town v Dagenham and Redbridge preview

Table-toppers FC Halifax Town will be aiming for a hat-trick of wins in the first week of the season when they host Dagenham and Redbridge on Saturday (3pm).
Action from FC Halifax Town v Dag and Red at The Shay last season.Action from FC Halifax Town v Dag and Red at The Shay last season.
Action from FC Halifax Town v Dag and Red at The Shay last season.

Pete Wild’s team are the only side in the National League with a 100 per cent record after two games, having beaten Ebbsfleet 4-1 and then Hartlepool 2-0.

Halifax have six different goalscorers so far - Cameron King, Niall Maher, Jack Earing, Nathan Clarke, Josh Staunton and Tobi Sho-Silva.

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Dagenham started the season with a disappointing 2-0 home defeat to newly-promoted Woking, but bounced back on Tuesday night with a 2-1 victory at Dover thanks to goals from Angelo Balanta and Mitch Brundle.

Balanta could be one for Town to watch on Saturday, having impressed against Dover along with team-mate Joan Luque.

Attacking midfielder Balanta joined Dagenham from Boreham Wood this summer, having scored nine goals in 34 league games last season and 10 in 32 league games the season before.

Former Barcelona trainee Luque spent 2019 with Concord Rangers after his release from Lincoln City. He joined Heybridge Swifts in 2017 and went on to score 30 goals in all competitions, earning him his move to Lincoln.

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Speaking to DaggersTV after the Dover game about their trip to Halifax, Dagenham boss Peter Taylor said: “It’s a wonderful feeling when you come into training after a win.

“We know it’s another big game but we’ve proven tonight we can play away from home on a good pitch and battle with the best.”

Long-term injury victims Dayle Southwell and Josh Macdonald remain Town’s only two absentees, although winger Danny Williams sustained a hamstring injury against Hartlepool on Tuesday, and was due to be assessed this week.

Halifax have played Dagenham eight times at The Shay and never lost to them, with Matty Kosylo and Jonathan Edwards scoring in their 2-1 win last season (pictured).

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Follow all the action from The Shay on Saturday on our live blog at www.halifaxcourier.co.uk.

Saturday’s National League fixtures:

AFC Fylde v Ebbsfleet United

Barrow v Eastleigh

Boreham Wood v Chesterfield

Bromley v Torquay United

Dover Athletic v Wrexham

FC Halifax Town v Dagenham & Redbridge

Maidenhead United v Hartlepool United

Solihull Moors v Aldershot Town

Sutton United v Chorley

Woking v Harrogate Town

Yeovil Town v Stockport County

Notts County v Barnet