A late mishap from Steve Drench saw Halifax denied victory over Frickley Athletic in what was still a positive and dominant performance from the Shaymen.
Halifax created plenty of chances in the first half with Jordan Sinnott having a close range attempt blocked within the first few minutes. Jordan Burrow then had a close range header caught by Frickley keeper and former Polish international Sebastian Malkowski.
The Shaymen eventually opened the scoring in the 21st minute. Connor Hughes burst down the left wing, biding his time, before sweeping the ball across the face of goal for Burrow to finish into the empty net.
Halifax nearly doubled their lead in the 34th minute, Burrow heading straight at Malkowski, before Denton laid off Liam King to strike at the keeper once again.
Hughes turned on his afterburners on the wing again minutes later, but Frickley’s Reece Hands was there to intercept w
Just before the halftime whistle, Scott Garner was gifted a golden opportunity to extend the lead, but lifted Sinnott’s corner ball over the bar.
At the break, Kosylo replaced Hughes and carried on the good work from the left side that had been seen in the first half. The former Nantwich Town man instantly made an impact, bursting through on goal minutes into the second half, however his shot was weak and didn’t test Malkowski.
After a small period of uneventful play, Kosylo was on hand to provide some more action. The midfielder burst down the left wing, wonderfully beating his man with pace, before neatly keeping the ball from going out of play. However, the ball became stuck under his feet and ended what was a promising Halifax attack.
Kosylo then nearly turned provider minutes later, his freekick meeting the head of Danny Hone who headed straight at the keeper.
In a surprising turn of events, Frickley soon found themselves on the counter attack. Tyler Williams was released through on goal, doing well to keep Cliff Moyo off the ball. His shot though was excellently saved by substitute keeper Tom Nicholson.
Kosylo found himself with another opportunity to score in the 72nd minute. Peniket found him in the box, however Malkowski pulled off another wonderful save to deny the Shaymen yet again.
Ten minutes later, Josh MacDonald and Jake Hibbs put together some great link up play, resulting in a Hibbs attempt being volleyed over the bar.
Frickley nearly achieved a late equaliser, Josh Grant realising Nathan Curtis with a deft backheel. However, valiant defending efforts from Ross Barrows and Elliott Harrison denied the striker.
Curtis then had an even better chance minutes later, somehow missing from 8 yards out with an empty net in front of him.
The pressure from Frickley then paid off, but not in a way most would have expected. Steve Drench misread a long ball from the home defence, before falling backwards to see the ball bounce over him and trickle into the empty net.
Bailey Gooda nearly found a winner with the last kick of the game, but Drench’s fingertips stopped his freekick from finding the bottom corner.
The Shaymen’s next game is a home fixture against Sheffield United at 19:45 on 19th July.
Attendance: 306
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