The event comes less than 3 months after Hyde FC became the first non-league club to sign up to the government charter against homophobia and transphobia in sport, which commits the club to taking a zero tolerance approach to any anti-gay abuse or chanting within the game.

At Saturday’s match, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender campaigners and members of Village Manchester FC will show support for the Tigers’ stance, while the Hyde players will wear Just a Ball Game? and Football v Homophobia t-shirts before kickoff.

The Football v Homophobia banner will also be on display throughout the match while flyers, stickers and badges will be handed out to fans to help raise awareness of anti-gay issues in the game.

John Hurst, the social inclusion coordinator at the Manchester Football Association, will be the FA’s representative at the match, which is the first ever semi-professional fixture in the UK to be sponsored by LGBT campaigners. John last visited Ewen Fields in December to award Hyde the inaugural Manchester Credit Union monthly equality award.

Speaking about the day, Lindsay England, a founding director of Just a Ball Game?, said:

We are grateful for the support that Hyde FC are giving to help challenge any anti-gay prejudice in football. Although we will not change a culture overnight, much progress is being made to educate, and this is testimony to the club and management’s proactive planning and forward thinking.

Andy Duffy, the director of communications of the Justin Campaign, added:

The Justin Campaign is delighted that Hyde FC are supporting Football v Homophobia. The involvement of clubs such as the Tigers is vital to the continuing growth of Football v Homophobia in particular and the fight against homophobia, biphobia and transphobia in football in general.

The game itself is a huge fixture. The Tigers sit 8 points clear at the top of the Blue Square Bet North table but will be hoping for a win against the Bloods to help banish the memory of a disappointing start to the 2012. The match kicks off at 3pm, and admission prices and directions to the ground are available on our Ewen Fields page.

There are currently 3 inches of snow on the pitch at the Bishops’ Woodside Lane ground, and with temperatures expected to remain around zero over the weekend, the club were left with no option but to call the game off. A new date is expected to be announced later this week.

Meanwhile, the Tigers will now host Workington at Ewen Fields on Monday 5th March after the fixture was postponed last Saturday due to a frozen pitch. The match – one of 6 scheduled during the month of March – kicks off at 7.45pm.

Ladies’ day takes place on Saturday 24th March where a 3 course meal with wine in the Peter O’Brien lounge, VIP parking, a ticket for the match and reserved seats in the stand are all included for just £25 per person.

Places are limited, so book early with Alan Hackney, the commercial manager, on 07792 136557 or at ahackney@metalweb.co.uk, to avoid disappointment. A £10 deposit is required at the time of booking to secure your place.

For more information about how you can entertain clients, reward work colleagues or share the day with friends and family with one of our exclusive matchday packages, see our hospitality page.

Scott has scored 19 goals in as many league games this season, and it’s not the first time he’s caught national team manager Fairclough’s eye – he was selected for an England C contingency squad in August and was picked as part of an 18-man squad in November, but missed the fixture against Gibraltar due to injury.

An appearance against the Azzuri would see Scott, who is the only man in the 16 to play below the Conference, become the first Tigers player to represent England since Gareth Seddon scored twice in 2007′s Four Nations tournament.

The International Challenge Trophy game against Italy will take place at Fleetwood Town’s Highbury Stadium at 7.30pm on Tuesday 28th February, and entry is free for all areas of the ground. Tickets are available from the Fleetwood ticket office over the phone on 01253 775080.

Hyde team: Carnell, Pearson, Griffin, Hall, Havern, Moses, Worsley, Birch (Byrne), Berkeley (Broadbent), Spencer (Poole), Crowther

Unused subs: Williams, Brizell

Somehow Hyde managed to lose this game despite controlling the game from start to finish.

The Tigers would have been disappointment with just a draw from this game, so to lose was even harder to take.

Gary Lowe raised a few eyebrows by demoting Callum Byrne, Josh Brizzel and David Poole to the bench, with Chris Worsley, Scott Spencer and captain David Birch returning to the starting line-up.

It was Hyde who got a foothold in the game early on and Ryan Crowther just couldn’t get Worsley’s through ball under control and Solihull managed to see out the danger.

Adam Griffin’s marauding runs down the left were causing the Solihull defence problems and his fantastic cross was somehow just missed by everyone when a touch would have put the Tigers a goal ahead.

Solihull threatened occasionally from set-pieces and Danny Hall had to clear a dangerous Stuart Pierpoint header.

The second half followed a similar pattern to the first, with Hyde dominating possession – but that killer pass was just letting them down.

Griffin managed to work some space for himself and shot just wide.

The Hyde manager threw on Danny Broadbent to add a bit more thrust up front ,and his powerful run and shot was well held by Jasbir Singh in the home goal.

The decisive moment came in the last minute as a rare Solihull attack led to Ryan Beswick being brought down by David Carnell. He confidently stepped up and scored to send the home fans delighted.

Hyde could have still equalised at the end but Callum Byrne’s deflected shot was well pushed away by Singh.

Photos

View the full set of Paul Prole’s photos of Solihull v Hyde on Flickr.

Hyde team: Carnell, Brizell, Griffin, Hall, Havern, Pearson (Spencer), Moses, Byrne, Berkeley (Broadbent), Poole, Crowther

Unused subs: Williams, Worsley, Birch

Hyde were left frustrated after a second home draw in a week, this time coming against a determined and well drilled Gloucester outfit.

The game was played in blustery conditions throughout and despite Hyde having the lion’s share of possession they couldn’t break down the visitors’ rearguard.

It was the league leaders who started the brighter and Matt Coupe had to be alert to nick the ball off Matty Berkeley’s toe.

Gloucester threatened sporadically and nearly took the lead when Darren Mullings’s drive hit the post before the ball was scrambled away.

At the other end, Tunji Moses burst forward and laid the ball back to Ryan Crowther whose shot was well saved by Lewis Carey.

With a half-time roasting still ringing in their ears, Hyde came quickly out the of traps in the second half and David Poole’s wicked ball in was nearly put into his own net by Matt Coupe.

Hyde were still knocking on the door and Danny Hall volleyed over from a corner and then Gianluca Havern’s header was scrambled off the line.

Gloucester had a chance to nick it late on when uncertain defending in the Hyde box led to substitute Steve Davies firing just wide.

At the other end Ryan Crowther looked set to score but another tackle from the excellent Coupe denied him and Hyde all three points.

Photos

View the full set of Paul Prole’s photos of Hyde v Gloucester on Flickr.

Hyde team news

According to Gary Lowe on Twitter, a decision will be made on top scorer Scott Spencer’s fitness on Saturday morning. Scott missed last Saturday’s draw with Corby Down due to an ankle injury, but came through Thursday’s training session fine.

Danny Broadbent is the only other known injury doubt, while Adam Griffin has recovered from the illness which kept him away from training on Monday.

Harry Winter will play for Matlock Town tomorrow, with Hyde retaining maintaining the player’s registration.

Recent form

Hyde haven’t won in the 2 games since taking 3 points in the New Year’s Day derby at Stalybridge Celtic, but have actually extended the lead at the top of the table to 12 points since then thanks to rivals dropping points and Guiseley and Stalybridge both being in FA Trophy action – against each other – last weekend.

Gloucester have picked up 6 points from their 3 games in 2012, with the wins coming at home to Worcester City and Solihull Moors. They came unstuck in a 4 – 3 defeat at Histon last weekend, but have scored some impressive victories on the road this season, including wins at Gainsborough Trinity and Altrincham in the space of 5 days.

Gloucester sit 13th in the table, 9 points off the playoff places and 18 points clear from the relegation zone.

Recent meetings

Saturday’s fixture will be the sixth meeting between the 2 sides since Gloucester joined the Conference North in 2009, with Hyde’s first win against them coming in this season’s away fixture at the end of August.

An injured Scott Spencer was replaced in the starting line-up that day by Danny Broadbent, who made his full debut one to remember by winning a penalty – converted by Matthew Berkeley – and scoring a thunderbolt from the edge of the area to help secure a 2 – 0 win.

Prior to this season, the closest Hyde had come to a win against Gloucester was at Ewen Fields in September 2009, but City’s injury time equaliser cancelled out Scott Mooney’s opener. 3 routine wins against poor Hyde sides followed for Gloucester in the 2009 – 2010 and 2010 – 2011 seasons, but they will travel to Ewen Fields on Saturday knowing that Hyde are a very different prospect this year.

See the full match history between the 2 sides on the Hyde FC database.

Opposition view

Jenni Silver of SportGlos gives us the rundown from a Gloucester point of view:

Gloucester’s last trip to Ewen Fields was in February and we won 3 – 0 thanks to a Darren Edwards hat-trick, so from a personal point of view I have quite high expectations. However. as we all know, the fortunes of Hyde have changed a lot in the past 11 months, and we all saw how strong you were when you came to Whaddon Road. But, as our manager pointed out, we’ve done okay away against the Manchester sides so far this season.

Players to look out for from the other “northern” Tigers? Well you’ll remember Darren “Edwardinho” Edwards – he’s our current top scorer, but Will Morford’s hat-trick against Histon last week means he is hot on Daz’s heels.

Jack Harris is back. He broke his leg last season and has struggled for fitness, but will probably slot in at left-back seeing as Tyler Weir’s gone to Worcester on loan.

Another couple of new face for Hyde fans are Lewis Carey, on loan from Bristol City until the end of the season, and Matt Lock who defected to the north from Chelmsford in the summer but didn’t play in the home fixture back in August.

Off the field (and back in Gloucester) the plans are in for our new ground, which you can have a look on the Gloucester City Council website, which is pretty exciting.

And beware – our captain fantastic Tom Webb (making his 472nd appearance for Gloucester on Saturday) has been scoring goals this season. He’s only scored 4, but before October his last goal had been in 2009 against Stourbridge.

Jenni is supporting the Meningitis Trust’s education campaign and is asking Hyde fans to sign the charity’s petition.

Elsewhere

Hyde’s 3 main title rivals are all in league action on Saturday:

Guiseley v Droylsden
Hinckley United v Stalybridge Celtic
Vauxhall Motors v FC Halifax Town

Odds

At the time of writing, Hyde are 4/9 favourites with Blue Square going into tomorrow’s match, with the draw priced at 10/3 and an away win for Gloucester at 9/2.

Photo: Neil Phelps

Just 2 months after leaving the club for Fleetwood Town, Ryan went straight back into the Hyde team to face Corby on Saturday afternoon and completed the full game.

On returning to the club on loan from Fleetwood, Ryan said:

It’s great to be back. It’s great to see all the lads, Gary and Boots, and the fans again – and it’s good to be back to be able to play games.

It’s been a little bit frustrating up at Fleetwood as, like every footballer, I want to play games. I’ve spoken to (Fleetwood manager) Micky Mellon and he says I’m in his plans. I’ve signed a decent length contract there but now I just need to prove myself while I’m back here at Hyde.

I feel like I’m coming back a better player. I feel a lot sharper with it being full-time (at Fleetwood), and it’s a bit of a step up with the pace. Coming back is going to help me as I need 90 minutes like I had today.

I don’t regret the move to Fleetwood, but the manager says I need games and to get out on loan. At the moment they’re doing so well that it’s hard to break into the side.

Despite setting up Andy Pearson’s opener and causing problems for Corby’s defence throughout the match, Ryan wasn’t completely satisfied with his – or the team’s – performance in Saturday’s draw which extended the Tigers’ lead at the top of the Blue Square Bet North table to 12 points:

I thought I did okay. It’s disappointing not to get the 3 points, but we got a bit sloppy in the second half. They had a few chances but we need to be winning games like that.