- Home form: Halifax Town have won 3, drawn 2 of their last 5 home matches.
- Away form: South Shields have won 2 and lost 3 of their last 5 away matches.
- Player form: Cedwyn Scott is in electric form for South Shields, scoring 3 of their 9 goals in their last 5.
A tale of two towns
Halifax Town have won 2, drawn 2 and lost 1 of their last 5 games, while South Shields have won 3 and lost 2 of their last 5. Halifax drew 1-1 at home with Boston United, before beating Solihull Moors 2-0 away and thrashing Gateshead 4-1 at home, while South Shields beat Buxton 2-0 away in FA Cup Qualification 2026, before losing 4-3 away to Macclesfield FC in a wild National League North 2026 game.
Two different styles, two very different results
Tactical approach
John McGrath has drilled Halifax into a compact shape that are structured in their build-up, while South Shields play a much wider, high-tempo style that focuses on crossing and making late runs into the box. The contrast in style should lead to an end-to-end, wide-open game.
Statistics
Halifax are a much more controlled and efficient team than South Shields, and I think that will be a big factor in this game.
- The Shaymen have scored 2.00 goals per home game in all competitions, while they have conceded just 0.60 goals per game in all of their games.
- South Shields are a dangerous team, but they have scored 1.60 and conceded 2.60 goals away from home in all competitions.
- They have been leaky on their travels, and Halifax have been very solid on their home field.
Goals and home advantage
I think that there should be goals on the board here, and both teams are capable of scoring them, so I am backing Halifax Town to win and both teams to score on Saturday. I don't think there will be a blowout, but I expect a hard-fought game that Halifax should edge.
Halifax are the better team, and they have the home field advantage, but South Shields will be able to get a foot in the door.
