7:10pm on Monday night is a date for your diary as it will be when FC Halifax Town discover their First Round opponents in the FA Cup after their 2-0 win over Yorkshire rivals Harrogate Town.
The CNG Stadium hosted the game, which was an entertaining encounter where the Shaymen earned revenge after their earlier loss to the Sulphurites this season.
Jordan Sinnott opened the scoring before Jake Hibbs stepped up to score from his own half in injury time. We spoke to Hibbs after the fulltime whistle…
“It’s a great result. You’ve seen it in the last four and five games, we’ve been increasingly getting better and not conceding goals. But to get through is a great thing and hopefully we can get a good draw.”
The result was great, but Hibbs’ finish was even better. The young midfielder took inspiration from the likes of David Beckham, Wayne Rooney and Xabi Alonso as he curled the ball into the net from his own half after Harrogate keeper Peter Crook fluffed a volley. It’s fair to say Jake was rather pleased with himself…
“I think it was better than Beckham’s to be honest, think I was in our own half. Yeah, I’m happy with that one. I just looked up and it was on, so I just had a swing with my left foot and luckily it went in.”
And with the possibility of a game against League One or Two opponents on the horizon, there’s even more reason to smile…
“The FA Cup is massive and you’re always looking to get a big team. We had some good draws the last few years, MK Dons, Bradford. It’s one of those chances to play at a massive ground in front of a lot of people so if you can stay in it for as long as you can, it’s obviously a good thing.”
As for the game itself, the first half ended with neither team scoring, which came as a surprise to many, including Jake considering how many chances were created…
“Sinnott had a few chances and a few others so it was a bit surprising it was 0-0, but I think it was like that the last time we played them. It was one of those games where we didn’t want to concede really and if we could nick a goal it was obviously a great result.”
And the latter stages of the second half, were nervy, heart-in-the-mouth scenes before Hibbs secured the victory. Jake revealed that we shouldn’t have been too surprised to see him score such a brilliant goal…
“Dents dropped in and headed everything away and I tried to be the last man forward and chase everything down really. There were a few times where their keeper was a bit quick off his line and I thought before, that I would get a chance to have a dig. It wasn’t planned but I think it was a good way to setup against them.”
FC Halifax Town return to action next Saturday away at Boston United with kickoff coming at 3pm.
As for the Shaymen’s FA Cup adventure, you can watch the first round draw live on BBC Two on Monday at 7:10pm.
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