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Non-league Betting: Support the Shaymen in their hour of need

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Gary Boswell remains the man in form with ten correct tips out of last thirteen to show a 14.2point profit to advised stakes

There are a lot of complex factors to assess in deciding whether Halifax are a value bet or not in tonight's Live on Setanta fixture against Wembley-bound Ebbsfleet.

On the face of it, you are getting astounding value on the Shaymen at [2.48] or greater.

And I expect it will go greater as we near kick-off. There are sure to be those layers who want to cash in on a side that lost 6-1 at home just two days ago.

Other negatives include the psychological harm done by the deduction of 10 points so late in the season plunging a side from relative safety into the relegation mire overnight. The gutwrenching sense of injustice that induces in players has been reflected in recent results.

Halifax, however, are no down and outs. This is a must win game in hand for them which will put them back on the cusp of safety. Yes, they ran around like headless chickens against Kidderminster on Tuesday night but I don't expect that to happen again. The proud home record that has seen them lose just 20% of league fixtures this season took a pounding but Chris Wilder will surely put fire back in their bellies for the TV cameras and I'm one of those who intends to take advantage of the value that the drifting odds offer.

In Lewis Killeen, Andy Campbell and Jon Shaw, there are three of the league's strongest playing stalwarts and add Santos Gaia at left back and I refuse - like a lot of staunch Conference supporters - to accept that the Shaymen are a side who deserve to go down.

Will Ebbsfleet be up for the game in light of their focus on a Wembley final less than a month away? I'm sure Liam Daish will say yes, but I would have my doubts about certain individual players who will not want to risk picking up injury.

Forget the Tuesday night game and look back to the game before where the Shaymen were much more their normal selves in taking a point at home off highflying Forest Green. It will be extremely disappointing if Chris Wilder hasn't got them up for getting all three much needed points in this.

There are several other relegation battlers on offer at value odds on Saturday to catch the eye. Altrincham at [2.4] to beat Salisbury is a bit skinny but I fancy Graham Heathcote to wrestle a last ditch three points for the Robins nevertheless. Better value are Dave Pace's Droylsden at [3.6] against those Essex boys from Ebbsfleet once again. You will obviously need to keep an eye on Thursday's game in relation to this but if Ebbsfleet go down without much fight, I'll be doubling up on the Bloods who are guaranteed to throw the kitchen sink at this one. Their swansong in the division is passing into legend. Pace was determined not to go down without an away win and now that he's got that, he is saying that there is belief that the drop can still be avoided! The man has balls alright and I wouldn't be surprised to see him lining his players up without their shorts on Saturday. An old Scottish warrior tactic designed to scare the opposition silly and on page one of Dave Pace's manual for psychological success!

The final relegation battler to keep an eye on this weekend are Farsley. Quite capable of getting something at a Kassam Stadium that has been more a hindrance than a help to Oxford this season.

The Boz nap, however, is found down a division in the Blue Square North once more.

Barrow have done the business for us twice in the space of four days and got themselves on the edge of a play-off place that seemed unthinkable to some around Xmas. I watched them at Workington on Tuesday night and it struck me as one of those games planned from the dugout in minute detail. The Bluebirds spent the first hour entrenched in defence busy negating the threat that a revived Workington attack were always likely to pose. McNulty and Jones were rock solid in the back four and goalkeeper Tim Deasy showed a very safe pair of hands between the sticks.

With the attack nullified, the score still 0-0 and 20 minutes remaining, the dugout sent out its own - manager Darren Sheridan - to replace the largely ineffectual Mark Boyd in midfield. For the last 15 minutes Barrow were a fresh side and there was only going to be one winner - the goal coming poetically, direct from a Sheridan free-kick.

Redditch have got arguably the best goalkeeper in this division at the moment in Danny Lewis but he's going to have to be in top form to keep a clean sheet for ninety minutes on Saturday and the Bluebirds rate the nap again at an excellent value price of [2.44].

RECOMMENDATIONS:

2pts BACK BARROW to beat Redditch at [2.44] or greater
1.5pts BACK HALIFAX to beat Ebbsfleet at [2.48] or greater
1pt BACK DROYLSDEN to beat Ebbsfleet at [3.6] or greater
1pt LAY OXFORD against Farsley at [1.98] or less

p.s. This week's Boz quiz question - in which year did Halifax win the Conference to get themselves temporarily back into the Football League?