Southend United v FC Halifax Town preview
and live on Freeview channel 276
Venue: Roots Hall
Date: Saturday, April 23
Kick-off: 3pm
Referee: Robert Massey-Ellis, husband of female referee Sian Massey-Ellis, has shown 70 yellow cards, one red card and five penalties in 18 National League games this season. Took charge of Southend's 2-0 defeat at Yeovil in March but has never officiated a Halifax game before.
Odds: Southend win 31/20, draw 12/5, Halifax win 6/4
Season so far
Southend: P43, W16, D8, L19, F48, A65
Halifax: P45, W26, D9, L10, F, A42
Last five games
Southend: Yeovil (a) L 2-0, Notts County (h) L 3-0, Stockport (a) L 5-0, Wealdstone (h) L 1-0, Barnet (h) W 3-1
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Hide AdHalifax: Wealdstone (h) W 2-0, Solihull (h) D 0-0, Woking (h) W 2-1, Altrincham (a) D 1-1, Chesterfield (h) W 2-0
Scorers
Southend: Sam Dalby (10), Rhys Murphy (9), Matthew Dennis (8), Jason Demetriou (4), Harry Cardwell (3), Noor Husin (2), Nathan Ferguson (2), Tom Clifford (2), Nathan Ralph (2), Jack Bridge, James Dunne, Shaun Hobson, Callum Powell, Louis Walsh
Halifax: Billy Waters (20), Matty Warburton (13), Jordan Slew (11), Kian Spence (5), Tom Bradbury (4), Jack Vale (3), Kieran Green (2), Niall Maher (2), Zak Dearnley (2), Luke Summerfield (2), Jesse Debrah, Martin Woods, Tyrell Warren, Elliot Newby, Jamie Allen, Gerry McDonagh, Aaron Martin
Manager: Kevin Maher made more than 400 appearances for Southend as a player, going on to play for Oldham, Gillingham and Dagenham and Redbridge. Has previously been under 21 manager at Southend, but replaced ex-Halifax player Phil Brown as manager at Roots Hall in October last year, leaving his coaching role at Bristol Rovers, and has guided the club away from the relegation zone and comfortably into mid-table.
Last season: 23rd in League Two
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Hide AdOne to watch: Striker Sam Dalby joined Southend from Watford this summer and has netted 10 goals in all competitions, but is without a goal in his last eight matches.
Match facts: Only Stockport County have won more National League games this season than Halifax (23).
Halifax have the best defensive record in the National League this season, having conceded only 30 goals
Twelve of Halifax's last 15 goals have come in the second-half of games
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Hide AdHalifax have only kept one clean sheet in their last 11 away matches
Southend have only won once in their last six games, losing the other five
Southend have only scored in one of their last five matches, and have only kept one clean sheet in their last eight games
Last time they met: Jordan Slew, Billy Waters and Niall Maher scored as Halifax beat Southend 3-1 at The Shay back in September.
Saturday’s National League fixtures:
Notts Co v Weymouth
Southend v Halifax
Yeovil v Stockport
Altrincham v Wealdstone
Boreham W v Bromley
Grimsby v Torquay
Chesterfield v Dover
Eastleigh v Barnet
Solihull M v Aldershot
Dag & Red v King's Lynn
Woking v Wrexham