Halloween weekend is nearly upon us – but for some it’ll go down as just a normal week of footballing action.
For the first time in five years, the haunted holiday falls on a Saturday – meaning a full schedule of fixtures awaits keen supporters across the country.
Locally, Gloucestershire rivals Cheltenham Town and Forest Green Rovers go head to head – whilst Gloucester City host Chester at the summit of the National League North.
But whilst these fixtures are tantalising – here is the list of the best recent local games to have taken place on Halloween.
Forest Green 2-1 Chester – 2015
The 2015/16 National League season was a thriller for Gloucestershire-based fans. A two-horse race between Rovers and Cheltenham dominated the campaign – with the latter eventually crowned champions with a huge 101 points.
However it was Forest Green who led the way at the end of October with a 2-1 home win over Chester.
The visitors did their best to rip up the script initially, as Ross Hannah opened the scoring after 13 minutes, but a manic 60 seconds for Rovers saw Jon Parkin and Keanu Marsh-Brown turn the game on its head and overtake the Robins at the top.
Embed from Getty ImagesCheltenham 0-4 Crewe – 2009
It was a Halloween horror show for the Robins in 2009 as they succumbed to a 4-0 home defeat at the hands of Crewe.
Calvin Zola and Steven Schumacher had the Alex in control at the break, before the former doubled his tally after Danny Shelley’s well taken effort.
Embed from Getty ImagesCheltenham narrowly avoided back-to-back relegations in this campaign, after their three-season stay in League One came to an end the year before.
Cirencester 2-1 North Leigh – 2015
The start to the 2015/16 season was a forgetful one for the Centurions.
Seven defeats in their last nine going into a banana skin FA Trophy First Round qualifier against lower league North Leigh, the hosts were right to have concerns.
Fast forward 50 minutes into the game and the hosts were treating their supporters to a two-goal cushion, much to their relief.
The Southern League Premier side suffered a scare late on but progressed to the next round of a competition that they eventually exited in the First Round, despite pushing National League South side Truro City to a replay.
