FC Halifax Town manager Neil Aspin says his side are looking forward to their FA Cup First Round clash with Bradford and a chance to put one over one of the biggest giant-killers of recent seasons.
Bradford know all about cup upsets. Just two seasons ago they knocked out Premier League giants Arsenal and Aston Villa en route to the League Cup final, only for their fairytale to be crushed at the hands of Swansea City at Wembley.
And in previous generations they have knocked Spurs out of The FA Cup and beaten Everton in the League Cup.
FC Halifax Town v Bradford City
The FA Cup
First Round Proper
12pm, Sunday 9 November
The Shay, Halifax
Live on BT Sport
Winning club will receive £18,000
Fellow Yorkshire club Halifax have not fared so well, however. Since reforming as FC Halifax Town in 2008, they have failed to get past the First Round of The FA Cup. Before that, the original Shaymen reached The FA Cup Fifth Round in both 1933 and 1953.
They faced League One opposition at this stage in the competition last season when MK Dons ran out comfortable 4-1 winners.
Aspin said: “We’re looking forward to the game but when one Bradford player earns more than our whole squad we have to remain realistic.
“We are only part-time so we only train a couple of times a week. We’ve had good experience on TV in the last few years, it helps raise the profile of the game but once you’re on the pitch you forget the cameras are there."
The Bantams have had a slow start to the season, currently 14th in League One and are winless in their previous five games.
The Shaymen, though, are going well in the Conference, currently third in the table and will hope to go one better after last season’s Play-Off defeat to Cambridge.
Aspin added: “An FA Cup run would be good for everyone, the club, the fans and the board but the league is our main focus.
"We performed exceptionally well last season to get in the Play-Offs and need to do the same if we are going to repeat that this year."
