The resurrection of the club saw it change in name only. Same town, same ground, same fans, same refusal to disappear. Same Town.

FC Halifax Town had to start somewhere and that was the Northern Premier League First Division North. After battling for most of their previous existence to stay in the Football League, that level had never seemed so far away. But, for the supporters, just to have a club to follow at all ranked among some of the greatest victories they had witnessed.

Their first sight of the new club in action was a friendly at Tamworth on July 19, 2008. The result, a 2-0 defeat, was almost incidental compared to the historic context of the occasion.

Over 15 applications had been made for the unadvertised manager's position at The Shay, with 41-year-old former Witton Albion boss Jim Vince given the nod and a week later, he had his and the club's first win after losing on their return to The Shay against Bury.

Colin Hunter's left-footed volley from 25 yards out took a fitting place in the club's record books as its first ever goal, soon followed by a second from Kyle Buckley as Vince's side defeated Alsager Town 2-0.

A much-anticipated season opener at home to Bamber Bridge may have ended with a 3-0 loss, but it mattered far less than the fact that Town were now officially up and running.

Their first competitive win was recorded three days later as they beat Trafford 2-1, although they had to wait until the middle of September for their first home win as Warrington Town were trounced 7-1.

After an inconsistent start, The Shaymen soon found their feet and rose to the top of the table by November after a seven game winning run, including a 5-2 win at opening-day gatecrashers Bamber Bridge.

However, promising victories seemed to go hand-in-hand with disappointing defeats for the remainder of Vince's reign as the dream first season threatened to slip away.

Nigel Jemson was appointed caretaker boss for final four games

His final ten games in charge produced just ten points and with the play-off places looking increasingly out of reach, it was decided Jim couldn't fix it for Town after all.

A home defeat to fellow promotion-chasers Skelmersdale proved the final straw. Nigel Jemson was named caretaker-manager for the last four games of the campaign with the play-offs still a distant but not doomed possibility.

But, the former Nottingham Forest striker managed himself out of contention by failing to win any of his matches at the helm as The Shaymen finished three places and five points off the top five.

Town had suffered something of a false start in their first season and needed someone to re-fire the starting gun. Neil Aspin dropped down two divisions to become the club's new manager just three days after the final game of the season, but within two years, he would be back there and taking The Shaymen with him.

A few others would be making that same journey too, with Aspin recruiting Jonathan Hedge, Aaron Hardy, Danny Lowe, Nicky Gray, Richard Marshall and James Dean from his former club Harrogate Town, with Gray a survivor from the original Halifax Town.

With a new manager and a new look team, optimism was abound that Halifax could make their first tentative steps up the non-league ladder.

After the first ten games of the 2009-10 season, it was obvious this wasn't going to be another season of ifs and buts. Starting with an opening day win at Colwyn Bay, Town won nine and drew one before their first defeat of the campaign at Prescot Cables at the start of November, including a 4-1 victory over Warrington in Aspin's first home game in charge.

But, while the eleventh month had been as good as it got last season, this time it was the springboard for a 13-game unbeaten run that stretched to the end of February, when Radcliffe Borough inflicted Halifax's second and final defeat of the campaign.

The team reacted to that with five wins on the spin, scoring 16 goals and conceding just two, as they entered the home straight with Lancaster also vying for top spot.

A packed fixture schedule decreed The Shaymen would play eleven games in 29 days, an average of around one match every three days. The team won eight and drew three.

The most dramatic victory, probably in the short history of the club, came at Garforth Town, where the hosts were 3-1 up before a fairytale late comeback thanks to two goals from Richard Marshall either side of James Dean's equaliser gave Town an extraordinary win.

Three days later, promotion rivals Lancaster were soundly beaten 4-0 in front of 3,152 fans at The Shay to put Halifax top of the league. And that's where they stayed.

The summer saw another round of transfer activity, with fans favourites Steve Payne and Ryan Crossley making way as a host of new faces arrived, including Stocksbridge forward Jamie Vardy and Woodley Sports defender Liam Hogan, both of whom would shine during the season.

A more modest start was made to the 2010-11 Evo-Stik Premier Division campaign, with one win, at home to Buxton on the opening day, from the first four games.

However, the bursts of pace that Vardy was capable of reflected the breakneck speed at which the club was progressing, and hopes of a second successive promotion were soon raised with a ten-game winning run in the league propelling Town to the summit before North Ferriby ended the run with a surprise 2-0 win at The Shay.

Back-to-back matches against FC United produced two wins and the biggest ever home crowd since the club reformed of 4,023, with Town producing a performance to match in a 4-1 victory on New Year's Day.

Again, the loss column was barely troubled as Aspin's men, inspired by the burgeoning Vardy, displayed a relentless consistency heading into the final part of the campaign as the rest of the league were left trailing behind; a thrilling 3-2 win at home to Chasetown encapsulating the indomitable spirit the manager had fostered over the last two years.

Sadly, assistant manager Trevor Storton wouldn't live to see a second consecutive promotion after he passed away following an illness that had only kept him away from matches at the very end of his life.

The players made it their raison d'être to clinch the title in his memory and did just that on April 9 with a comfortable 2-0 win at Retford, capping an astonishing two years since Aspin's appointment.

Tom Scargill