FC Halifax Town moved up to 6th in the Vanarama National League North table after beating Gloucester City 2-0 at Whaddon Road.
A header from Alex Simmons and a penalty from Liam King were enough to see the Shaymen emerge victorious in a very entertaining fixture.
Halifax’s first chance came in the 10th minute when Sinnott’s training ground corner routine; a ball across the floor in to the box, was met by Simmons who was unlucky to see his close range shot blocked.
Soon after, it was Gloucester’s chance to nearly open the scoring. Joe Hanks found Zack Kotwica with a great ball through the middle, but his teammate couldn’t get his shot on target as the ball was scooped wide of the far post.
Hanks was then the one to nearly score. His 25-yard freekick was hit tamely, but only just skimmed the crossbar to deny Gloucester the lead within the opening twenty minutes.
Gloucester had the better side of possession in the opening half an hour however it was the visitors who scored first. A throw-in to Denton was flicked on by the big forward and Alex Simmons was on hand to head into the top right corner past Jasbir Singh and score his fourth goal since joining the Shaymen.
Six minutes later and Gloucester nearly equalised with Kotwica firing from long range, stinging the hands of Steven Drench in goal.
Danny Hone was substituted just before half-time through injury, Nathan Hotte replacing the defender.
As the second half began, Gloucester created plenty of chances. Kotwica volleyed over nearly giving his side a perfect start to the restart.
Danny Greenslade then fired one from an angle after some good work from Tom Owen-Evans and captain Tom Webb. Kevin Roberts did well to get his body in front of the ball and block the shot.
Joe Hanks found Kotwica with his freekick delivery but the forward could only see his attempt go out for a goalkick.
Despite Gloucester having most of the possession once again in the second half, Halifax Town made it 2-0 in the 61st minute. Halifax hit the home side on the counter, Liam King releasing Josh MacDonald down the right hand side, who was then brought down by Sam Avery in the box. The referee pointed to the spot and King stepped up to double the Shaymen’s lead.
Tom Webb nearly put Gloucester straight back into the game when he fired at goal from long range, Halifax’s defence doing well to stop the ball reaching Drench.
Halifax nearly made it 3-0, but Simmons was unable to grab his second as he headed MacDonald’s cross over from close range.
James Fitzgibbon had a chance to reduce the deficit as he was played through but he took many touches and could only fire straight at Drench between the sticks.
Simmons put in another man of the match performance and his skill on the ball nearly gifted him another goal. Denton flicked the ball on to Simmons who turned his man expertly before firing straight at Singh from an angle.
In stoppage time, Joe Parker nearly scored a stunner for Gloucester, volleying the ball first time from the corner of the box, but only into the palms of Drench.
FC Halifax Town’s next game is an away fixture against Harrogate Town in the FA Cup 4th Qualifying Round.
Lineups:
Gloucester City:1. Jasbir Singh, 2. Kieran Thomas, 3. Danny Greenslade, 4. Spencer Hamilton, 5. Sam Avery, 6. Tom Owen-Evans (Parker 66’), 7. Joe Hanks, 8. Tom Webb (c), 9. Craig Reid, 10. Zack Kotwica (Fitzgibbon 66’), 11. Edward Williams (Dinsley 76’)
Subs: 12. Jack Deaman, 14. Joe Parker, 15. Calvin Dinsley, 16. James Fitzgibbon, 17. Eli Phipps
FC Halifax Town:1. Steve Drench, 2. Kevin Roberts, 3. Josh Wilde, 4. Liam King (c), 5. Danny Hone (Hotte 37’), 6. Scott Garner, 7. Josh MacDonald, 8. David Lynch (Hibbs 45’), 9. Tom Denton, 10. Jordan Sinnott (Moyo, 78’), 11. Alex Simmons
Subs: 12. Tom Nicholson, 14. Richard Peniket, 15. Jake Hibbs, 16. Cliff Moyo, 17. Nathan Hotte
Goals:Simmons (28’), King (61’)
Yellow cards:Wilde (59’) Denton (70’)
Red cards:
Man of the Match:Alex Simmons
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