A swing of Lois Maynard’s left boot propelled FC Halifax Town above Grimsby Town into 3rd place in the Skrill Premier standings.
Having been amongst the chasing pack for a place in the play-offs in recent weeks, The Shaymen underlined their credentials by performing with solidarity and diligence against an expectant yet frustrated Grimsby.
Maynard like all of his colleagues was imperious. Demonstrating a range of combativeness in midfield the 24 year-old covered every blade of grass, galloping forward and tracking back in equal measure, full-blooded in every tackle while possessing a thirst for goals, Maynard, like so often this term, conjured up an all-round dynamic display.
Having scored a scorcher against Tamworth a touch over six weeks ago, the towering midfielder added another sublime finish to his ever growing portfolio of stupendous strikes and was in no uncertain terms about which goal he favoured the most:
“Due to the importance of it I would say tonight’s is the best one that I have scored to be honest. I just remember receiving the ball from Marshy (Paul Marshall) I made a first touch and tucked it in as I was losing balance so it was nice to see it rise in.”
While Lee Gregory leads the scoring charts for Town, Maynard has scored a handsome seven goals, making him the club’s second-highest goalscorer, an occurrence he least expected after initially failing to set himself a goals target at the beginning of the campaign:
“No, but when I started to get a few goals I then did, all I’m going to say is that I am not far off it now.”
The euphoria that greeted the final whistle at Blundell Park was palpable, as joyous players and managerial staff embraced each other before saluting the vocal 480 Shaymen faithful in the away end. A daunting succession of three away games has not only brought about maximum points, but it has also installed greater confidence within a vibrant crop of players:
“Yeah we always believed that we could do it, our aim is to win every game we play in so it isn’t a massive surprise that we managed to get nine points. We’ve kept eight clean sheets in our last nine which is a sign of a successful team.”
As the whole of the Skrill Premier look at FC Halifax Town with admiration, Neil Aspin’s troops could consolidate their place in the play-offs with a victory over Macclesfield Town, providing other results go their way. At the end of the season Halifax could potentially be two matches away from Wembley, an occasion that would represent a whirlwind 12 months for Maynard who was playing for Northern West Counties Football League Premier Division side Winsford United last season:
“We’ll go into that game with the same attitude and do our best to get three points like we always do.
It has been a great. I’m thankful for the opportunity to make the step up so I’m just taking it into my stride.”
Read more posts by Kelly Gilchrist
;
