Fleet have Andy Drury available again as Garry Hill takes his in-form side to FC Halifax Town for the second time looking to re-enter the play-off zone having not appeared in it since late August.
After the heady triumph of the Gallagher Stadium, it will be a much different atmosphere Fleet head into at the MBi Shay with a partisan home crowd dwarfing a travelling support whose numbers will inevitably be hit by the inconvenience of a midweek rearrangement so far north.
But with the sixth best away record in the league and the opportunity to rise into the play-off places, Fleet will have no fear. With a much superior goal difference to Eastleigh, three points will guarantee the Fleet seventh place tonight. The Halifax game is the only one of any play-off consequence this evening, with Harrogate Town hosting Salford City tomorrow night.
Halifax have long since laid the ghost of relegation to rest and they’ve lost only once in the past eight games. Saturday’s impressive home win over Solihull Moors came courtesy of two loanees, Manny Duku from Cheltenham Town and Salford City’s Devante Rodney.
Halifax’s early season form marked them as promotion contenders until they fell away badly through the autumn but manager Jamie Fullarton will now have one eye on next season. They will also be looking to avenge their worst defeat of the campaign, a 4-0 thrashing at the Kuflink Stadium earlier this season – Hill’s first win as Fleet manager.
