FC Halifax Town: Youth team in play-off action on Wednesday

Halifax won their division in the National League U19 Alliance, and have been piited against Boreham Wood, who also won their regional league, in the first round of the play-offs.

The winners of the game, which kicks-off at 3pm on Wednesday, will then play AFC Hornchurch away in the quarter-final on May 10.

FC Halifax Town’s youth team coach Mark Trueman, who guided the team to league success this season, said: “Boreham Wood have got an academy set up like we do so they attract a lot of players from that area, and they have a big squad to choose from.

“They’re strong going forward. They’ve got a striker who’s scored 36 goals in 14 games so he will be a threat.

“They’ve got some big, strong players who will be dangerous from set-pieces.

“But we can go there with confidence. We know our strengths and we’re approaching the game the right way.

“We’ll train on Tuesday then travel down and stay overnight. Then we’ll train Wednesday morning before the game, all of which is a good reward for the players for winning the league.

“They’ve only brought the play-offs in over the last couple of years. It’s a bit like the Champions League where it’s a knockout format.

“We’ve got this far and we want to go on and win it now. It would be a great achievement for the club to get into the next round, never mind win it. But if we perform how we have been this season we should be confident.

“It all helps with their development, experiencing a pre-match preparation like the level they aspire to play at.”

The club will also be holding a trial day for new players for next season at Calderdale College on May 8 between 6pm and 9pm, as some of the second year players make way for the new recruits.

“It will be the last couple of games for some of the second years,” Trueman added. “Some of them will be retained, but some will be given a pathway into employment, university and some will be going to the USA to continue a career in football and their studies.

“And we’re already starting the process of recruitment for next season with our open day.

“We had around 100 players last year who turned up to that, and a high percentage of them went into the youth team, and those who didn’t went into the centre of excellence at Calderdale College, which is another pathway into the youth team.

“It can be tough impressing in a one-off game so if they do go into the centre of excellence rather than the youth team at first, they can still push towards the youth team in a few months.”