FC Halifax Town Fight Back Late On To Secure a Draw Against Eastleigh at The Shay
Adam Lakeland made four changes from Town’s last Enterprise National League outing, with Dylan Crowe, Shaun Hobson, Angelo Cappello and Owen Devonport coming into the side.
The Shaymen started on the front foot, with Angelo Cappello at the heart of the early openings. His through ball released David Kawa, whose effort forced Nick Townsend into action, before another dangerous delivery from the left flashed across goal with Owen Devonport inches away from converting. Halifax continued to ask questions, with Josh Hmami and Will Hugill both threatening from wide areas, but the visitors held firm.
Despite Halifax’s promising start, it was the visitors who struck first. On 15 minutes, Zavier Massiah-Edwards combined with Sonnie Davis on halfway before driving forward and bending a superb effort beyond Sam Johnson from the edge of the box to open the scoring with his first of the season.
Eastleigh almost doubled their lead soon after when Davis’ cross-come-shot drifted just wide of the far post. The contest boiled over shortly before the half-hour mark when Aaron Pierre shoved Hmami to the ground, sparking furious protests from the home support. Both players were cautioned by the referee.
The visitors did extend their advantage just minutes later. From a floated Jake Taylor free-kick, Luis Fernandez battled with Shaun Hobson and guided a composed finish into the far corner to make it 2-0, his first goal of the campaign.
At the interval Lakeland turned to his bench, introducing Owen Bray, and the substitute almost made an instant impact. Eight minutes after the restart, Bray bent a stunning strike from 25 yards that rattled the underside of the crossbar before bouncing out, with Townsend beaten. Just two minutes later, Bray again tested the keeper, forcing a fine save with a delicate chip from a tight angle.
The Shaymen continued to push. Hmami’s driven cross found Cappello at the back post, but his strike was brilliantly blocked by Davis, while Kawa’s whipped ball across goal on 59 minutes only just evaded the onrushing Devonport and Hmami.
Eastleigh remained dangerous on the counter and Johnson had to get down sharply to keep out Davis after good work from substitute Paul McCallum. At the other end, Devonport held the ball up well before slipping in Cody Johnson, who dragged his effort narrowly wide.
The breakthrough finally came with just under ten minutes to play. Jamie Cooke combined with Bray on the right, and when the cross took a deflection inside the box, Devonport reacted quickly to turn home from close range. It was the Fleetwood Town loanee’s first league goal for Halifax, adding to his midweek strike against Middlesbrough in the National League Cup.
And with two minutes of normal time remaining, Halifax found the equaliser their second-half display deserved. Cappello and Turner-Cooke linked up smartly down the left to slide in Thierry Latty-Fairweather, who surged into the area before drilling a powerful finish inside Townsend’s near post. It was the defender’s first goal for the club and sparked wild celebrations at The Shay.
The Shaymen almost completed the turnaround in stoppage time, when Cappello struck the post from a similar angle to Latty-Fairweather’s leveller. Despite that late drama, Town had to settle for a point, but the second-half comeback will give Adam Lakeland plenty of encouragement heading into the weeks ahead.
Match Stats
FC Halifax Town
1 Sam Johnson ©, 23 Dylan Crowe (36 Thierry Latty-Fairweather), 5 Shaun Hobson, 16 Jevon Mills, 11 Angelo Cappello, 30 Cody Johnson, 4 Will Hugill (17 Owen Bray 46), 27 Jay Turner-Cooke, 8 Josh Hmami (10 Jamie Cooke 80), 22 David Kawa (9 Will Harris 68) 31 Owen Devonport
Subs: 12 Nat Ford, 26 Jake Griffin, 29 Sean Tarima
Eastleigh
1 Nick Townsend, 2 Richard Brindley (3 Jake Vokins 79) , 5 Luis Fernandez, 6 Temitope Eweka, 8 Jake Taylor © (4 Lloyd Humphries 79), 11 Aaron Blair (18 Angel Wariuh 68), 14 Zavier Massiah-Edwards (9 Paul McCallum 57), 15 Harvey Saunders, 16 Aaron Pierre, 21 Sonnie Davis, 24 Jordan Cousins
Subs 22 Josh Mcnamara, 23 Louie Holzman, 30 Connor Underhill
Referee: Dale Baines
Goals: Massiah-Edwards 15, Fernandez 30, Devonport 82, Latty-Fairweather 88
Yellow Cards: Pierre 25, Hmami 25, C Johnson 29, Saunders 32, Turner-Cooke 51, Taylor 58
Red Cards: None
Attendance: 1352 (36 away)
FC Halifax Town 2 Eastleigh 2
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