FC Halifax Town drew 0-0 with Chorley in the Vanarama National League on a wet Tuesday night at The Shay.
Despite having the majority of the possession and chances, Pete Wild’s side were unable to make their dominance count due to Chorley’s resolute five-man defence.
Town looked to assert their dominance on the game from the beginning as they built up play from the back, while the visitors set up their low block, looking to soak up the pressure from The Shaymen.
With Chorley happy to sit back, it was clear from early on that the home team would have to get the ball out wide in order to counter Chorley’s narrow shape.
The first signs of this came after 13 minutes when Danny Williams got on the ball 20 yards out and tried to play through to Dayle Southwell, however Chorley managed to clear.
The first chance of any sort came 15 minutes in from Chorley. Marcus Carver found the ball out wide and produced a promising cross into the box, but none of his teammates were able to get on the end of it.
Moments later, a cross was whipped in from the Chorley right side, which Sam Johnson had to punch away, however the ball ended up falling to Adam Blakeman who skied the ball into the stand behind Johnson’s goal.
In the 35th minute, Michael Duckworth was able to storm forward and was fouled by Dodds who was cautioned.
In the 41st minute, McAlinden produced some clever trickery 20 yards out, got the ball out his feet but his shot was high and wide.
One of the final moments of the half saw Ntumba Massanka try to launch a counter attack, but Nathan Clarke was alert to clear the danger.
In the early stages of the second period, Town saw plenty of the ball, but were unable to make their possession count, with half-chances coming for McAlinden and Duckworth.
Duckworth soon after produced a speculative shot from 40 yards out but couldn’t quite find the target.
Minutes later, Town went close as McAlinden tried a half-volley from the edge of the box but it sailed just over the bar.
Up the other end, Massanka managed to get on the end of a long goal kick, which he tried to clip to Carver who was running towards the penalty area, but Duckworth was able to intercept.
As time progressed, Chorley became happier to send more of their men forward, which resulted in them holding a little more of the ball, however they could not produce anything with it.
A big chance came for Town in the 71st minute, as substitute Jamie Allen found Binnom-Williams in the box, however his shot was tame and fell into Urwin’s arms.
Town’s dominance continued, with Chorley back into their original shape. Looking to get the win, Pete Wild’s final throw of the dice came as Tobi Sho-Silva replaced Southwell.
In the latter stages, Binnom-Williams was able to cut in from the left, and found substitute Cameron King whose shot was blocked from the outside of the box. The ball then fell to Allen whose shot hit the side netting.
Despite the majority of the possession, The Shaymen were unable to find a decisive goal, seeing the two sides share the points on a damp evening.
Match Facts
FC Halifax Town: 4-2-3-1
1 Sam Johnson, 2 Michael Duckworth, 3 Jerome Binnom-Williams, 4 Nathan Clarke ©, 6 Liam Nolan( 11 Tobi Sho-Silva 80) , 20 Jeff King (10 Cameron King, 57), 14 Josh Staunton, 15 Liam McAlinden, 21 Danny Williams (7 Jamie Allen 69), 22 Charlie Cooper, 9 Dayle Southwell
Subs: 12 Will Appleyard, 10 Cameron King, 11 Tobi Sho-Silva, 7 Jamie Allen, 31 Niall Maher
Chorley: 5-3-2
1 Matthew Urwin, 2 Matt Challoner, 3 Adam Blakeman, 6 Courtney Meppen-Walters, 13 Jake Cottrell ©, 16 Lewis Baines, 17 Nortei Nortey, 18 Ntumba Massanka (7 Alex Newby 69), 12 Mark Ross, 14 Louis Dodds (8 Josh O’Keefe, 77), 9 Marcus Carver ( 20 Chris Holroyd, 90)
Subs: 7 Alex Newby, 8 Josh O’Keefe, 20 Chris Holroyd, 11 Elliot Newby, 21 Danny Eccles
Goals: None
Yellow Cards: 35″ Louis Dodds, 48″ Matt Challoner, 83″ Dayle Southwell, 90″ Jake Cottrell.
Red Cards: None
Attendance: 2117 (116 away)
MOTM: Michael Duckworth
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