(Picture: Action Images via Reuters)
By Matt Bishop
Halifax Town striker Adam Morgan is a player who knows all about the fine margins in cup football.
Two seasons ago, the former Curzon Ashton striker starred in the FA Cup by scoring a brilliant hat-trick against Wimbledon, only to see his cup dreams torn apart when the League One side fought back from 3-1 down to win 4-3.
It was a bitter pill to swallow for Curzon and Morgan, despite the striker's meteoric rise to goalscoring fame, and the 23-year-old is determined not to suffer similar disappointment this season.
Ahead of the Shaymen's FA Cup journey starting tomorrow, at home to league rivals Tranmere, Morgan told The Halifax Courier: “It was a great run [with Curzon] but we should really have got into the third round.
“But the club earned a lot of money and got a lot of publicity from the run and that's what counts. Curzon are a fantastic club and I've got a lot of love for them.
“I now know that anything can happen in the cup, even if you're 3-1 up in the 81st minute. Nothing's ever won in cup football.
“But we've got the ability to beat Tranmere and hopefully I can be part of it.”
Morgan's cup treble made him hot property in lower league football, but it was Halifax boss Billy Heath who had identified him as a potential signing even before his show-stopping performance against Wimbledon.
While a host of clubs were interested in his services, it was the Shaymen who made Morgan “feel wanted”, and after nine goals in 19 games for Town last season, the striker has adapted well to life in the National League this term.
He looks set to start against Tranmere, after coming off the bench to score the equaliser against Boreham Wood last weekend, and will deputise for the suspended Matty Kosylo and Tom Denton.
The influential duo will be a big miss as Halifax play for the a place in the FA Cup first round proper, but Morgan said: “They're two massive players for us but it gives other lads in the squad a chance to either start or come onto the bench.
“We've still got a team capable of winning.
“We will have to change a little bit but we need to keep the same hard work and team spirit we've been showing. We've got faith in our team that we can get wins in their absence.
“I want to score goals and do my best for the team like I always do if selected. But whoever comes in can do the job.”
Catch up with all the weekend's FA Cup Fourth Round Qualifying action in Sunday's @NonLeaguePaper.
