The Shaymen fell to a 2-1 defeat against Altrincham at the J.Davidson Stadium, with the Robins building a two-goal lead before Matty Kosylo’s late own goal gave Halifax hope of a comeback.
The game started slowly as both sides looked to find their rhythm, although Altrincham created a flurry of chances in the third minute. The Shaymen defended well to keep the hosts at bay.
Town won their first corner inside five minutes. The Shaymen opted to take it short, with Conor Douglas receiving the ball on the edge of the box. The forward found space and took aim, but his effort was comfortably held by Robins goalkeeper Owen Evans.
Altrincham took the lead in the 16th minute after a mistake at the back from Will Flint. His poor back pass fell straight to Jimmy Knowles, who took advantage of the error and fired past True Grant to put the hosts ahead.
The Robins almost doubled their advantage six minutes later when Charlie Kirk threaded a fantastic through ball towards Aiden Barlow. Barlow flicked the ball on for captain Tom Crawford, but his effort was dragged wide, sparing the Shaymen.
Barlow received the first booking of the game in the 27th minute after a late challenge on Will Hugill.
Halifax struggled to play through Altrincham’s high press but continued to search for an equaliser. However, they were unable to find the final pass needed to create a clear opening.
The Robins doubled their lead just before half-time in the 45th minute. A free-kick was delivered into the Shaymen penalty area and found Crawford, who struck the ball for the first time on the volley, sending it beyond Grant.
Halifax made two changes at the break, with Owen Bray and David Kawa replacing Conor Douglas and Ben Tollit.
The Shaymen came out strongly after the restart and immediately applied pressure, making their way into the Altrincham penalty area. Despite appeals for a penalty from the travelling Halifax supporters, the Robins defended well.
Town thought they had pulled one back in the 50th minute after beating both the Altrincham defence and goalkeeper, but the flag was raised for offside, denying Halifax a goal.
The Shaymen continued to push and won a promising free-kick in the 57th minute after Lewis Banks was booked for a crunching challenge. Zak Gilsenan took the resulting set-piece, but his effort struck the wall before going out for a corner, which ultimately came to nothing.
Another free-kick followed two minutes later after Charlie Kirk was booked for a challenge, although the set-piece was quickly cleared.
Altrincham made two changes in the 67th minute, bringing on Kahrel Reddin and Kian Breckin for Kirk and Liam Humbles.
Two minutes later, Halifax made their third change as Hugill was replaced by Cruz Allen, who made his National League debut for the Shaymen.
Neither side was able to make the most of their opportunities as the second half progressed, with Altrincham making another change in the 80th minute when Kane Hemmings replaced Knowles.
Town finally found a way through in the 81st minute. A ball was played into the Altrincham box before a scramble ensued, with former Town man Matty Kosylo getting the final touch to pull one back for Halifax.
Halifax made their final change of the game in the 85th minute with Amari Morgan-Smith replacing Conor Carty.
Altrincham had thought they’d made it 3-1 after a scuffle in the Town penalty area with Grant pulling off two saves but missing the third shot; it looked like it was in, but an off-the-line clearance from Shaun Hobson kept them at bay. The referee then blew his whistle, claiming there was a handball committed by Altrincham in the chaos.
Altrincham made their final change in the 90+2nd minute with Jake Cooper replacing Aiden Barlow.
Matty Kosylo received a yellow in the 90+3rd minute after giving away a free kick on the edge of the Robins’ box, the ex-Shaymen giving them a lifeline, but unfortunately Town’s attempt was straight at the keeper.
The late goal gave the Shaymen hope of completing a comeback, but they were unable to find a second before the final whistle. Despite a much-improved second-half performance, Halifax left Altrincham empty-handed after the hosts’ first-half goals proved decisive.
Altrincham:
1 Owen Evans, 2 Lewis Banks, 7 Otis Khan, 8 Liam Humbles (12 Kian Breckin 68)10 Aidan Barlow (5 Jake Cooper 90), 11 Jimmy Knowles (28 Kane Hemmings 80), 14 Matty Kosylo, 15 Samuel Taylor, 21 Reuben Lopata-White, 22 Tom Crawford (c), 23 Charlie Kirk (20 Kahrel Reddin 68)
Subs: 4 Jack Hinchy, 13 Andy Firth, 26 Anthony Forde
FC Halifax Town
33 True Grant, 2 Max Bardell, 3 Raheem Conte, 4 Will Hugill (27 Cruz Allen 69), 5 Shaun Hobson (16 Deniche Hill 75), 8 Will Flint, 9 Conor Carty (14 Amari Morgan-Smith 85) 10 Zak Gilsenan, 11 Connor Douglas (7 Owen Bray 46) 17 Ben Tollitt (22 David Kawa 46), 30 Cody Johnson (c)
Subs: 1 Sam Johnson, 20 Tayt Trusty
Referee: Alan Young
Goals: Knowles 16, Crawford 45 + 1, Kosylo (og) 81,
Yellow Cards: Barlow 27, Banks 53, Kirk 59, Conte 65, Kosylo 90 + 4
Red Cards: None
Attendance: 1861 (423 away)
Altrincham 2 FC Halifax Town 1
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