Halifax sign former Accrington Stanley and Shrewsbury goalkeeper ahead of visit of Hartlepool United

The 23-year-old arrives on a deal until the end of the season following a serious injury to captain Sam Johnson, the Shaymen's most experienced player with almost 400 appearances to his name in West Yorkshire.

Despite being almost a decade younger than Johnson, Savin will be able to call on decent experience himself as he looks to make an impression at The Shay. The goalkeeper broke into the Accrington Stanley side when he was still a teenager and went on to make more than 100 appearances for the Lancashire outfit. He played four times during an emergency loan spell at Stevenage before leaving to sign for Shrewsbury last summer.

Having started the season as the first choice goalkeeper at New Meadow, Savin lost his place in December after conceding eight goals in two games in the lead up to Christmas. In total, he has made 25 appearances for the Shrews.

Savin spent last month on loan at National League leaders Barnet, making one league appearance in a thumping 4-0 win over Rochdale. After signing for Halifax, who currently have 10 first team players out injured, on Tuesday, Savin kept a clean sheet on his debut as a patched-up Town side drew 0-0 with relegation-threatened Woking in midweek.

"He's a good lad, he's a good keeper," manager Chris Millington told the Halifax club website.

"It feels very strange not to have Sam Johnson in the team, it's the first time it's happened in my time in charge that we've had a starting XI without him in it. It was very odd.

"Toby met us on the way down (to Woking) and we introduced him to the lads at the hotel before the game. He's come in and done a really good job for us. We knew he was a fantastic keeper and when we had the opportunity to sign him it was a no-brainer. We're delighted to have him for the rest of the season."

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