A Ben Tomlinson hat-trick condemned FC Halifax Town to a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Lincoln City in a disappointing display for The Shaymen at Sincil Bank. Ryan Crowtherโs free kick had reduced the deficit at the start of the second half but it couldnโt prevent Town from falling to only their second defeat in six matches away from home.
Lee Gregory concedes the teamโs performance wasnโt up to their usual standards and made no excuses for the manner of the defeat: โWe were shocking, weโve had some bad games before but today it just wasnโt our day. It didnโt fall for us and we didnโt perform.โ
Despite what was a poor performance, The Shaymen still managed to create goalscoring opportunities but failed to convert them which only adds to the frustration: โWe had a fair few chances and any other day weโd have been scoring those but today it didnโt seem to go for us, we were just unlucky I suppose.โ
Following a well earned point against Cambridge United and last weekโs confidence boosting comeback at Aldershot, the mood was positive ahead of the encounter with The Imps so the clubโs top scorer says itโs hard to understand why things didnโt click on the day: โI honestly donโt know what went wrong, we didnโt give ourselves a chance at the start with those two early goals and it killed us. We relied on the wind too much in the second half.โ
The playing conditions in Lincolnshire were not ideal as a cut up pitch coMBined with blustering wind as Town found it hard to strike up a rhythm. It certainly assisted Tom Millerโs throw-in on three minutes which set up Tomlinsonโs opener, and the visitors found it hard to recover from then on which resulted in a deflated away dressing room at the final whistle: โYeah I think it shocked us because they scored so early and we didnโt expect it but thatโs football and it does that to you. Everyoneโs disappointed but weโre not going to dwell on it and weโre going to move onto Tuesday now.โ
Much like most defeats there are still a couple of positives to take from the match, most notably the performance of debutant Crowther who signed earlier in the week following his release from Fleetwood. He scored the goal and looked a lively presence throughout which is something Gregory certainly noticed, although heโs not willing to accept that his free kick was intended to find the back of the net: โYeah heโs done well today, heโs good when attacking and scored a great goal today but he canโt claim that as a shot! It was a good goal from a good player.โ
Gregoryโs name was on the lips of all Shaymen fans yesterday as the Transfer Deadline Day clock ticked down, and as it eventually drew to a close the 25-year-old remained an FC Halifax Town player much to the delight of everyone involved at the club. Whatever may or may not have happened during the course of yesterday, he says heโs glad to still be at The Shay and be part of the play-off push: โDefinitely. I love it here and the fans make me welcome all of the time. Iโll be honest I did want to move on to push on with my career but it didnโt happen and Iโm happy and I want to see out promotion.โ
Town now move onto Tuesday night for the re-arranged fixture at home to Salisbury City which represents a must win game in the race for a top five finish: โItโs a must win, weโre very strong at home so we need the three points.โ
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