FC Halifax Town were knocked out of the West Riding County Cup after a 6-3 defeat against Liversedge.
Six goals in the first half before just two in the second half mean Liversedge will progress to the semi-final of the West Riding County Cup at the Shaymen’s expense.
In a first half that saw six goals, Liversedge started the game on fire by winning a penalty within the first five minutes after Jesse Debrah fouled his man inside the box. Alfie Raw stepped up to take and made no mistake to make it 1-0.
It didn’t take long for the hosts to double the lead as Lewis Witham got his first of the day after seven minutes. Cutting inside the box, Witham curled a shot towards the top right corner leaving Tom Scott no chance.
Liversedge got their third of the game after 18 minutes. Harvey Gilmour played a poor pass to Debrah which was intercepted by Oliver Fearon on the edge of the box. The forward coolly slotted it under Scott to make it 3-0.
A glimmer of hope for the Shaymen came in the 22nd minute. Jamie Thomas, on his first start for Town, fired in a rabona cross from the right hand side. The cross found the head of debutant Zak Dearnley in the centre of the box who headed past the keeper.
With just ten minutes of the first half remaining, Town reduced the deficit down to just one goal. A nice passing move found McDonagh on the penalty spot. The striker did well to turn his man before firing a shot over the keeper and into the roof of the net to make it 3-2.
However, just five minutes later the hosts restored their two goal advantage. Witham latched onto the end of a cross and it was a simple tap in for the forward who netted his second of the game.
The second half started at a far slower pace, but it took 12 minutes before we saw another goal. McDonagh got into the box before being brought down. Despite guessing right, the Liversedge keeper wasn’t able to stop Thomas’ penalty as the scores went 4-3.
The action didn’t end their however. With just 17 minutes left on the clock, the referee awarded Liversedge their second penalty of the game. Again Raw stepped up and fired it hard into the bottom left corner to make it 5-3.
Fearon completed the scoring with his second of the game. After a period of sustained pressure, Fearon slide in at the near post to slam it past Scott and make it 6-3.
Town return to league action on Saturday as they take on Bromley in an important fixture in the hunt for promotion.
Match Stats:
Liversedge: 1 M Dearnley; 2 Jacko Hardacre; 3 Connor Smythe; 4 Ross Daly; 5 Kurt Haris (C); 6 Sam Harris; 7 Lewis Whitham; 8 Aflie Raw; 9 Gavin Allott; 10 Oliver Fearon; 11 Paul Walker
Substitutes: 12 Nicky Walker; 14 Heaton; 15 Walton; 16 Ben Atkinson; 17 Kevy Tarangadzo
FC Halifax Town: 1 Tom Scott; 2 Jay Benn; 3 Javid Swaby-Neavin; 4 Tom Uniatowicz (20 Jake Hemmingway 69’); 5 Jesse Debrah; 7 Harvey Gilmour; 8 Zak Dearnley (23 Frankie Sinfield 62’); 9 Gerry McDonagh; 10 Jamie Thomas; 14 Ben Darbey; 19 Jordan Slew (C)
Unused Substitutes: 12 Lewis Haley; 17 Lucas Schofield; 22 Dan Hernandez
Yellow Cards: N/A
Red Cards: N/A
Goals: Raw 6’ 73’, Witham 7’ 40’, Fearon 18’ 87’, Dearnley 22’, McDonagh 35’, Thomas 57’
Liversedge 6 FC Halifax Town 3
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