Halifax's defensive setup concerns me in the way that everything concerns me, which is to say deeply and without any prospect of relief — Coll Whyte will spend the afternoon being pulled apart by FC United's forward line like a particularly tragic piñata. And yet somehow, João Medeiros will drift through midfield with the serene indifference of someone who has already accepted the futility of all effort, and Halifax will nick an equaliser that satisfies nobody, including me, including you, including the players themselves.

Halifax come to Broadhurst Park with Medeiros pulling strings in midfield like a general commanding the battlefield, and that Halifax defensive wall looks built to absorb everything FCU can throw at them. FC United's home advantage gives them the edge in the trenches, but I just don't see them breaking Halifax down completely tonight. A draw feels like the honest verdict — two armies leaving the field bloodied but unbowed.