Solid Shaymen ready to repeat defensive masterclass against Wimbledon

FA Cup
BT Sport 1, 12,30pm Saturday

Two shutouts of Morecambe in round one should encourage Halifax to believe they can keep shot-shy Wimbledon at bay in round two.

Two cripplingly out-of-form sides meet at The Shay, where the Yorkshiremen are probably worth a bet to avoid defeat.

There’s a 40-team gulf in status between these sides, although that might not count for a great deal given how poor the Dons have been this season.

They’ve been so poor, in fact, that long-serving boss Neal Ardley was sent packing two weeks ago, leaving Simon Bassey in temporary charge. The job is such a poisoned chalice that Kevin Nolan has declined to touch it.

To be fair to Bassey, he has presided over narrow defeats at Doncaster and Peterborough either side of a rare win over Southend, but they are the lowest scorers in League One with 14 goals in 20 and had to wait until injury time to get the only goal of the game at seventh-tier lightweights Haringey in the first round.

Halifax, meanwhile, have won just one of 14 in the National League and were thumped 4-0 at Ebbsfleet on Saturday.

The Shaymen did, however, twice fend off Morecambe (albeit with a lot of good fortune in the replay) so are clearly capable when in the mood. They will also have benefited from a free midweek whereas the Dons were at Peterborough on Tuesday evening.

Four clean sheets in the last six hint at what Halifax are capable of defensively, although clearly their best-laid plans weren’t observed that well at Ebbsfleet. The pressure is building on boss Jamie Fullarton who needs a result whatever the competition.

Recommendation
Halifax or draw double chance
1pt 5-4 Coral, Ladbrokes

Bet on this match at Soccerbase.com

Team news
Halifax
Forward Ben Tomlinson is a long-term crock.

Wimbledon
Kwesi Appiah (hamstring) is ruled out while Scott Wagstaff is a doubt. Striker James Hanson is still absent.

Key stat
The Dons have lost six of their last seven away games..

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