FC Halifax Town will visit Damson Park this Saturday for a Vanarama National League clash against Solihull Moors as the club celebrate Youth & Junior Day.

Over 500 players and parents from the Moors‘ incredible Y&J section will play their part in opening the brand-new Party Pieces Family Zone.

Between 1:30pm-2:30pm, the 3G pitch will be open for kids aged 6-12 to take part in football activities led by Solihull Moors Foundation staff – please note that children must be accompanied by an adult.

The Moors have been on a good run lately, having have not lost in their last four. The last game – against Hereford in the FA Cup – ended with a 0-1 win. The previous league game was a 0-1 win against King‘s Lynn Town. Neal Ardley‘s side have been really strong defensively and not conceded in their last four.

Meanwhile, FC Halifax Town haven‘t lost a game in their last nine; they have won six and drawn three out of those. With that fantastic run of form, they‘ve managed to lift themselves to third in the league. The Shaymen currently have four more points than the Moors, who now sit eighth.

This should be a fantastic game between two teams who are both on an unbeaten run. Your support is so important! Tickets for the match are priced at just £15.00 for adults, £12.50 for concessions, £10.00 for under 18’s and FREE for under 12’s with a paying adult.

Purchase tickets by clicking HERE

Those attending the fixture are kindly asked to read and agree to the Spectator Code of Conduct HERE

More key information can be found HERE and the club advise supporters to thoroughly read through the guidance prior to visiting.

Kick off: 3:00pm

Here‘s your full match preview...

Opposition league form

Played: 11

Wins: 7

Draws: 2

Losses: 2

Last three league matches:

FC Halifax Town 2 – 0 Weymouth

FC Halifax Town 3 – 2 Notts County

Barnet 0 – 0 FC Halifax Town

In the opposite dugout – Pete Wild

Wild is the second-youngest manager in the Vanarama National League. He was born in 1984, but despite a young age, he's been coaching for a pretty long time.

He played amateur football before he decided to take up coaching before he reached his 20th birthday. He started in grassroots football and worked his way up. Along the way, he was the head coach of Great Britain's amputee team.

He worked his way up ladder and evenutally managed to land a job with the club that he supported as young boy: Oldham Athletic. He started as a youth development phase coach and head of education at the club. Then he was a U18's coach and an academy manager at Oldham. He impressed in his various roles, and in December 2018, he was hired as the interim manager of the first team following the sacking of Frankie Bunn.

He took charge of eight games – including a memorable win over Premier League side Fulham in the FA Cup – but stepped down when the club hired Manchester United legend, Paul Scholes. The former midfielder resigned after a short period in the job, and in March, Wild returned as caretaker manager. He finished the season as Oldham's caretaker manager and steered the team to a 14th place finish in League Two.

He resigned from the job after the 2018/19 season due to personal reasons. Halifax Town then hired him. In his first season in charge, the club lost in the play-offs against Boreham Wood, and last year Halifax finished in 10th place.

One to watch – Billy Waters

Waters is certainly a player that the strong Solihull Moors defence will need to keep an eye on during Saturday‘s game.

He‘s been on brilliant form so far this season. Waters has played 11 league games, and in those games, he has scored nine goals. He leads the league in goalscoring, alongside Chesterfield‘s Kabongo Tshimanga.

The 26-year-old Waters began his career with Crewe Alexandra. After progressing through the youth academy, he was called up to the first team in 2012. In 2013 he made his professional debut in a 2-1 loss to Carlisle. He played 25 games with Crewe in League One before signing for Cheltenham Town in 2015.

He scored 11 league goals in his first league season with Cheltenham and helped the team gain promotion to League Two. He had a solid season with the club in League Two, which caught the eye of Northampton Town.

He had a difficult spell with Northampton as he couldn‘t find his goalscoring boots. As a result, Waters was loaned out to Cambridge United, back to Cheltenham and then to Newport County. Then he made a permanent transfer to Torquay United in October 2020.

He scored six goals in 26 matches in the National League with Torquay last season. After being released by the club, he signed for Halifax.

Scoring a league goal every 108 minutes so far this season, he has found his confidence again. And he‘s a player that the Moors need to keep quiet throughout the 90 minutes.

Previous meetings

These two teams have met 14 times before; Solihull have won two, five have ended in a draw and the Shaymen have come out victorious in seven of the fixtures. Last seasons results were:

FC Halifax Town 1 – 0 Solihull Moors – 13.3.2021

Solihull Moors 2 – 1 FC Halifax Town – 15.12.2020

Colours

Moors will be in yellow and blue, with the goalkeeper in all red.

Match officials

Adam Herczeg is the man in the middle on Saturday. Herczeg will be assisted by Alan Hull and Michael D’Aguilar, with Alan Cox on fourth official duty.

How to follow the game

Radio: https://www.switchradio.co.uk

Twitter updates: @SolihullMoors