Maidenhead United secured a place in the FA Trophy third round with a 4-1 win at FC Halifax Town’s MBi Shay Stadium.
Despite a second-half slaughtering from the away team, Town fans were celebrating first after just 35 seconds thanks to star man, Matty Kosylo finding the back of the net with his left foot.
The tricky winger placed his shot past Maidenhead goalkeeper, Carl Pentney and into the bottom right corner following a through ball from Danny Clarke.
With Halifax in the driving seat, they continued to look comfortable on the ball for the first 15 minutes.
After the quarter of an hour mark, the visiting side started to attack more with a number of chances being fired high and wide alongside more players pushing forward.
In the 16th minute there was a penalty appeal from the Shaymen when Josh MacDonald was knocked down in the box by Rene Steer but referee, Ryan Johnson quickly waved the appeals away.
Scott Garner saw the first yellow card of the afternoon for a foul in the 26th minute.
Halifax came close to a second in the 28th minute when Clarke played through Jake Hibbs.
The midfielder was one-on-one with Pentney, but the pressure got to him as he hit the shot over the bar. The score remained at 1-0.
Just one minute later, Connor Oliver became the second player to have his name taken when he received yellow.
The home side had another chance on the 30th-minute mark when Tom Denton was fouled and awarded a free-kick. Hibbs stepped forward to take the set-piece which forced a fantastic save from Maidenhead’s goalkeeper who just managed to keep it out.
Moments later, Maidenhead’s Moses Emmanuel had an opportunity to make it 1-1 with just Sam Johnson to beat. The striker attempted to put the ball around the goalkeeper but scuffed his shot wide.
In the 33rd minute, Jake Hibbs was awarded a yellow card for simulation which angered Town’s bench and fans.
Five minutes later, Town received their fourth booking when Kosylo joined his teammates in the referee’s notebook, leaving Billy Heath livid on the touchline.
Maidenhead levelled just before half-time when Emmanuel got the final touch of a scrappy goalmouth scramble.
There were no major chances for either side in the first seven minutes of the second half until Harry Pritchard took a chance in the 52nd minute, successfully putting the visitors ahead for the first time.
The midfielder fired his shot into the back of the net with goalkeeper, Johnson remaining rooted to his spot.
Halifax made the first change of the game moments later when Connor Oliver was replaced by former Lincoln City attacker, Ben Tomlinson.
The visiting side added a third an hour into the cup clash when Emmanuel grabbed his second of the game with a headed goal.
Maidenhead were given their first yellow card of the afternoon in the 62nd minute when Captain, Alan Massey was pulled up for a foul.
Five minutes later, Josh Wilde was forced to received treatment after remaining on the ground after a challenge. The full-back came back on shortly after treatment from the club’s physio.
In the 70th minute, Town fans roared as Tom Denton was pulled down in the box with a massive penalty appeal from everyone in Blue. In a similar fashion to the first half, the referee denied the home side a spot kick, awarding a goal kick instead.
Just a minute after Halifax Town were denied a penalty and down the other end of the pitch, goal scorer Emmanuel won Maidenhead a spot kick following a foul from Matty Brown.
Pritchard stepped forward to convert, claiming the away side their fourth goal and third of the second half.
Goalscorer, Emmanuel came off the bench for Sam Barratt in the 75th minute. Maidenhead made their second change when James Comley replaced Matt Kilman in the 80th minute.
This was then followed by Halifax’s Shiraz Khan coming off the bench for Kosylo.
With no chances for either side, two minutes later the visiting side made their final change when Sean Marks made way for Christian Smith.
Town had a shot cleared off the line in the 85th minute when Khan attempted to grab the Shaymen a second.
Following three minutes added time, the referee blew for full time with the score finishing at 4-1
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