FC Halifax Town v Hartlepool United preview

Manager Pete Wild takes charge of his first game at The Shay on Tuesday night as top-of-the-table FC Halifax Town host Hartlepool (7.45pm).
By Tom Scargill
Published 5th Aug 2019, 16:11 BST
Matty Kosylo was sent-off for Halifax against Hartlepool at The Shay last seasonMatty Kosylo was sent-off for Halifax against Hartlepool at The Shay last season
Matty Kosylo was sent-off for Halifax against Hartlepool at The Shay last season

Wild's first competitive match at the helm saw Town thrash Ebbsfleet 4-1 on Saturday, with goals from Cameron King, Niall Maher, debutant Jack Earing and Nathan Clarke, who scored an incredible 70-yard free-kick.

That result was the first time Town have scored four goals in an away league game since they won 4-1 at Boston United in October 2016, with a brace each from Tom Denton and Alex Simmons.

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The match will be the first time Halifax will have played at The Shay since beating Wrexham 2-1 on April 22. Wild reported no new injury concerns after the Ebbsfleet game, with his only absentees being long-term injury victims Dayle Southwell and Josh Macdonald.

Hartlepool lost 3-1 at home to Sutton at the weekend, with a brace from Harry Beautyman putting the away side 2-0 up before Gime Toure scored on his Pools debut against his old club, but Will Randall-Hurren wrapped up the win with a late third.

Pools boss Craig Hignett has made eight new signings this summer, including the permanent additions of loanees Luke Molyneux and Nicke Kabamba, as well as Salford midfielder Gus Mafuta

Hignett hinted at making changes to his side after Saturday, although young defender Kenton Richardson looks set to miss out after turning his ankle against Sutton.

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Fellow defender Peter Kioso will be assessed again after missing out at the weekend with a calf problem, while captain Ryan Donaldson, who missed a chunk of pre-season with a calf problem, could feature.

Myles Anderson, Luke Molyneux and Luke Williams are said to be moving closer to match fitness but Josh Hawkes (hamstring) remains sidelined.

Matty Brown and Matty Kosylo were both sent-off for Halifax in their 2-1 defeat at The Shay to Hartlepool last season, with referee Daniel Middleton also awarding the visitors a penalty.

You can follow live coverage of the game on our live blog at www.halifaxcourier.co.uk.

Tuesday's National League fixtures:

Woking v Aldershot

Dover v Dag & Red

Bromley v Ebbsfleet

Notts Co v Stockport

Yeovil v Eastleigh

Boreham W v Wrexham

Maidenhead v Chesterfield

Barrow v Harrogate

Halifax v Hartlepool

Sutton Utd v Barnet

Fylde v Chorley

Solihull M v Torquay

Related topics:Pete WildFC Halifax TownHartlepool United