Disappointment for the Shaymen as an awkward deflection from Ashley Worsfold in the second half gave Gainsborough Trinity a surprising 3-2 victory at the Gainsborough Martin & Co Stadium.
Town looked to be in control of the game but somehow went in at half-time level after Liam King and new signing Alex Simmons’ strikes were cancelled out by Jordan Thewlis.
The second half was a much different affair with only a handful of chances created from the Shaymen, however there was almost late drama deep into added time, as Keil O’Brien’s header sailed over the cross bar to deny FC Halifax Town at least a point.
Simmons, on loan from Lincoln City, who only had a limited minutes of action in the past few weeks, got off to the perfect start for this new side just 12 minutes into his debut.
A corner from the left was met by Denton at the near post (who previously had a header strike the woodwork moments before) who flicked it to the back post to find Simmons, who bundled the ball into the roof of the net.
Town continued to press and looked like a second goal was coming, with Simmons seeing a deflected effort sail just past the posts of former Shaymen shot stopper Jonathan Hedge.
However, against the run of play Trinity equalised just before the half hour mark in what was the home side’s first effort at goal. A free kick from the right swung in via the right foot of Alex Wiles picked out Jordan Thewlis free on the penalty spot who glanced his header into the bottom left corner.
This sparked a frantic few minutes in which three goals were struck as the Shaymen picked themselves up and regained the lead via the skipper Liam King just five minutes later.
Simmons played a perfectly-timed through ball between the Gainsborough defence, allowing King with a 1v1 on Hedge. King rounded the keeper and tapped home with ease.
Less than two minutes later the scores were level again as Thewlis struck his second of the night. A
It was almost a carbon copy of King’s effort, with Thewlis rounding Drench before firing towards goal from a tight angle, however the effort struck the inside of the post before sliding across the line and finding the opposite corner.
There were two good opportunities on the stroke of half-time for Halifax to go in with the lead that they deserved. Kevin Roberts picked out Tom Denton at the back post who rose in the six-yard box and forced Hedge to make a good save.
Cliff Moyo opened fire from long range in stoppage time with his weaker foot but is effort fizzed just wide.
The second half was a different affair from the dominate display from Town that we saw in the opening 45, with the Shaymen limited on their number of chances.
Gainsborough took the lead seven minutes after the restart. A central free kick was drilled towards goal low by James Reid, before deflecting off the foot of Worsfold. Drench got caught wrong-footed and the ball flew past the keeper.
The Shaymen struggled to create a clear cut chance in the second half, with the best chance of grabbing at least a point coming in the dying seconds of stoppage time.
A corner in the 94th minute was sent in by Josh Macdonald to substitute Richard Peniket, who sent a header to the back post to pick out Keil O’Brien in acres of space. He still had a lot to do to his credit but his diving header sailed over the crossbar before the sound of the referee’s final whistle echoed around the stadium.
FC Halifax Town will look to get back to winning ways on Saturday, when they face Ashton Athletic in the FA Cup.
Read more posts by Kelly Gilchrist
;
