2013–14 F.C. Halifax Town season

The 2013–14 season was the sixth season of the club since its reformation and its first season in the Conference Premier since the old club's liquidation.

Background

2013–14 saw Conference football return to the Town of Halifax for the first time since the old club Halifax Town AFC were liquidated in the summer of 2008. The club reformed as FC Halifax Town in July of the same year in the Northern Premier League Division One North under the management of Jim Vince. The Shaymen had a good early season, but a run of only to wins in 14 games towards the end of the season led to Vince being sacked and replaced by his assistant Nigel Jemson for the remaining four games of the season.

On April 28, 2009 Neil Aspin took the job as permanent manager of The Shaymen, arriving from Harrogate Town with the task of getting Halifax into the Northern Premier League. A tough season lay ahead, with a good cup run including a victory over Conference North side Droylsden 2–0 away from home. The run was eventually ended by Conference Premier Wrexham in front of a then record attendance of 2,843 in the Fourth Qualifying Round. With the cup run out of the way the club could dedicate all their interest towards the league. It was a very hard fought season, with Lancaster City going toe-to-toe with Halifax all the way. A spectacular game at Garforth Town saw Halifax trail 3–1 in the 87th minute, but goals two goals from Richard Marshall and one from James Dean were enough to give Halifax a 4–3 victory, which set them up well for the game with Lancaster just three days later. In what was billed as a tough game Halifax ran out as easy victors by four goals to nil. A victory the following Saturday at Ossett Albion saw the Shaymen all but Champions, before a 2–2 draw at home to Clitheroe secured the title.

Halifax started life in the Northern Premier League by making numerous signings, notably former Bradford City captain Mark Bower from Darlington and forward Jamie Vardy from Stocksbridge Park Steels, a player who would go on to make a big impact in more ways than one.

The Shaymen began the season how they would have wanted, winning their inaugural match at this level 2–1 against Buxton at the Shay, however draws against Frickley Athletic and Colwyn Bay plus a defeat at fellow newly promoted side Chasetown left Town in 13th position. However things did pick up; Town were unbeaten in their next twelve league games, winning a remarkable eleven of them to send the Shaymen six points clear of nearest challengers Colwyn Bay, and having played two games less than them. Within this unbeaten run, Halifax also played host to Conference Premier side Mansfield Town in the fourth qualifying round of the FA Cup, although like the previous season they succumbed to a narrow defeat.

A shock home defeat against North Ferriby United was just an anomalous result in the league campaign. December 31 saw Halifax sign Lee Gregory. The striker had been on loan at The Shay the previous season and signed from Mansfield. On New Year's Day 2011, Town hosted FC United of Manchester at the Shay which attracted a crowd of 4,023, an attendance that at the time held the record crowd for the Northern Premier League. Halifax won with ease, coming out 4–1 victors thanks to two late goals after having already beaten the Red Rebels three weeks prior at Gigg Lane. Victory at Northwich Victoria and an emphatic 8–1 home win against Ossett Town in mid-January, FC Halifax Town's biggest ever win, settled minor worries after going down 2–1 at bogey side Colwyn Bay and the Shaymen continued to win games at will despite the odd hiccup.

Halifax won an incredible match against Chasetown in late March, with four of the five goals in the 3–2 win coming very late on after Town had gone behind. Halifax had the chance to wrap up the championship at home to Matlock Town but a late penalty for the visitors meant Town had to wait. They finally won the title after winning 2–0 at Retford United and gained automatic promotion to the Conference North. This was their second league title in as many seasons.

After two incredible seasons, there was a belief around the club that three consecutive promotions could be on the cards. A good pre-season increased optimism but everyone was brought back down to Earth after Town lost their opening game at home to Corby Town. A close-fought encounter at Blyth Spartans ended in victory for the Shaymen but this win was succeeded by four consecutive draws. Meanwhile, star striker Jamie Vardy was bought by Fleetwood Town and after having a very successful season was snapped up by Championship outfit Leicester City. Defeats against Hinckley United and Vauxhall Motors didn't help the cause and Halifax were languishing in 16th place with only two wins from their opening nine games. This wasn't good enough and the team responded, winning four of their next six games including a victory against eventual league champions Hyde.

Despite the poor league form, Halifax were enjoying a good run in the FA Cup; the club reached the first round for the first time since their reformation and were drawn at home to Charlton Athletic who were five points clear at the top of League One at the time. The tie was selected to be shown live on ITV1. Town gave a very good account of themselves despite going down 4–0 after three late goals. The record attendance for the club was also broken, with a crowd of 4,601.

A sluggish period after the highs of the Charlton game were quickly forgotten after Halifax went on a ten game unbeaten run, propelling them from 13th position to 3rd, a position around which they stayed for the remainder of the season. Defeats against Nuneaton Town began an inconsistent run which led to a nail-biting end to the season in the race to make the play-offs. Town lost away at fellow play-off hopefuls Stalybridge Celtic but three wins from the final four games secured a 3rd place finish.

Halifax faced Gainsborough Trinity in the play-offs, a side who they hadn't lost to in the regular season, however after going 2–0 down at the Northolme they came back to draw the first leg 2–2. In the second leg, Town went down 1–0 despite having more of the ball throughout the game but poor finishing meant that they had to settle for another season in the Conference North.

The season began with somewhat of a cull of the previous season's squad; only nine members of that squad were initially retained for the upcoming season. Numerous high-profile signings were made in the close-season including former Huddersfield Town captain Jon Worthington, ex-Wigan Athletic midfielder Jason Jarrett and strikers Dale Johnson and Gareth Seddon from Droylsden and Conference Premier champions Fleetwood Town respectively. The duo had formed a prolific goalscoring partnership at Hyde between 2006 and 2008. Following these signings, Halifax were installed as the pre-season favourites for the Conference North title ahead of fellow phoenix and ex-league club Chester.

The Shaymen's season began as they would've wanted with a 2–1 victory against the most southerly side in the division Bishop's Stortford, despite falling behind. Another defeat against Colwyn Bay was followed by a 5–1 drubbing of Workington before a draw at neighbours Bradford Park Avenue. The Shaymen struggled to find consistency in the early stages and after their draw at the Horsfall Stadium they already found themselves 5 points adrift of joint league leaders Guiseley, Brackley Town and Chester. A loss at Chester in September was followed by a good run, which included the start of Halifax's FA Cup and FA Trophy runs.

The Shaymen reached the fourth qualifying round of the FA Cup, bowing out 2–0 to Lincoln City in a replay at the Shay, after having given the Conference side a good run for their money in a goalless draw at Sincil Bank. The Trophy saw Town fare better than in the Cup, reaching the quarter-finals but eventually ending up on the wrong end of a 3–2 defeat to another Conference side in a replay, this time in the form of Dartford Town. Halifax Town fought valiantly over these two games but found the Dartford strength too much During the middle of the season, Town experienced a large number of fixture postponements due to their involvement in the cups and the poor drainage system at the New Shay, causing the pitch to become easily waterlogged. Incidentally Halifax's home league tie in February against Stalybridge Celtic had to be moved to Rochdale's Spotland Stadium. By the start of February, Halifax had ten games in hand on runaway leaders Chester and were 41 points behind them. The continuation of the foul weather left Halifax having to play 12 league games in 27 days in April. Many fans thought that such a backlog of fixtures would tire the players out and cause them to miss out on the playoffs entirely, after having been in the mix even with so many games in hand. The Shaymen only won 2 of these 12 games but still made it into the playoffs fairly comfortably to finish the season in 5th place.

Town were paired up with local neighbours Guiseley in the playoff semi final after they had finished in 2nd place. A 1–1 draw at the Shay left things finely poised for the second leg at Nethermoor. Halifax managed to pull off an excellent 2–0 victory which was thoroughly deserved against the side who finished 16 points ahead of the Shaymen. Halifax were through to face Brackley Town away in the playoff final.

A close match was fought between the two sides whose league games had both finished goalless. The match was won by a 75th minute Lee Gregory goal to send Halifax Town back into the Conference Premier after a five season absence following their demotion. Two days later Halifax faced Guiseley once again, this time in the final of the West Riding County Cup at Valley Parade. They won 1–0 in extra time thanks to a Gareth Seddon goal to win their second trophy in three days after overcoming Liversedge, Albion Sports and Ossett Town in previous rounds. They scored eleven goals without reply on their way to the trophy.

Club

Squad

Including league, FA Cup and FA Trophy matches.

Coaching staff

Kit

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Transfers

In

Out

Competitions

Pre-season

Conference Premier

League table

*On 10 June 2014, Hereford United were expelled due to financial irregularities. Because of this, Chester were reprieved from relegation.
*On 13 June 2014, Salisbury City were demoted to the Conference South due to financial irregularities. Because of this, Dartford were reprieved from relegation.

Results summary

Results by round

Fixtures & results

Playoffs

FA Cup

FA Trophy

West Riding County Cup

Friendlies

Squad statistics

Appearances and goals

Current squad

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Players who left throughout the season

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Goalscorers

Disciplinary record