FC Halifax Town took on Morecambe FC in tonight’s National League fixture the Shaymen beat the Shrimps 1-0 after an early goal in the 8th minute from Will Harris who claimed his 16th of the season.
The Shrimps kicked off at the Shay Stadium and immediately went on the attack, but the Shaymen defended strongly.
Morecambe created the first chance through a free kick taken by Jake Nolan, which found the head of Paul Lewis, but his effort went over the bar. Town responded with a free kick of their own from Jay Turner-Cooke. Although it came to nothing directly, Thierry Latty-Fairweather regained possession on the left and delivered a cross to Will Harris, whose header was straight at Shrimps goalkeeper Jamal Blackman.
Town continued to push forward, with Will Hugill receiving a perfectly weighted pass from Latty-Fairweather on the left. Hugill laid the ball off to Harris, who struck it first time but sent it over the bar.
Town took the lead just eight minutes into the match after Turner-Cooke won the ball in midfield and played it through to Angelo Cappello, who found Harris clean through on goal. Harris finished first time past Blackman to give the Shaymen a 1–0 lead, scoring his 16th goal of the season.
Morecambe nearly equalised when a perfectly timed long ball from Miguel Azeez found George Thomas, whose first-time effort was superbly saved by Town goalkeeper Sam Johnson.
The first booking of the game went to Morecambe in the 28th minute when Lewis Payne pulled back Cappello after the winger had beaten him on the attack. With ten minutes left of the first half,
Town pushed to double their lead, but the Shrimps defended well, closing down any blue shirts in their half.
Morecambe received a second booking in the 42nd minute when Paul Lewis committed a dangerous challenge on Owen Bray. Town were awarded a free kick, but Blackman claimed the delivery.
The referee then brought the first half to a close, with Town heading into the break 1–0 ahead after a tightly contested opening period.
Town began the second half on the front foot and immediately attacked the Morecambe box, but they were unable to break through the Shrimps’ defence.
Morecambe made the first substitution of the game in the 55th minute, with Chris Popov replacing Joe Nuttall. Town briefly took their foot off the gas, giving away possession and allowing Morecambe to create more chances, but they recovered well and remained solid at the back.
With half an hour remaining, Morecambe had another opportunity to level the score when substitute Popov met a cross from the left, but his header drifted wide of the post. Adam Lakeland made his first changes in the 69th minute, bringing on Max Wright for Owen Bray and Florent Hoti for Will Hugill.
Morecambe made their second change in the 74th minute, replacing George Thomas with Ben Tollitt. Town won a corner shortly after, but play was halted when Cappello went down in the box holding his head. Lakeland responded by replacing the winger with Jack Jenkins in the 78th minute.
One of the Morecambe coaching staff was shown a yellow card with ten minutes remaining. Town continued to press for a second goal, attacking at every opportunity.
Morecambe came close to equalising in the 86th minute when a shot from outside the box trickled through to Popov, but he failed to get a clean touch. A minute later, the Shrimps received another booking after Popov deliberately blocked Sam Johnson’s goal kick.
Town were then awarded a penalty when Max Wright was brought down in the box. Turner-Cooke stepped up, but his effort was saved by Blackman, who spilled the ball back into play. Turner-Cooke recovered possession and passed to Will Harris, who slotted home, but the goal was ruled out for offside.
Florent Hoti was booked in the 89th minute for a late challenge. The fourth official indicated seven minutes of added time, during which Lakeland made another change, replacing Turner-Cooke with Adam Adetoro. Lakeland himself was then shown a yellow card after an exchange with the fourth official as Town held on to secure the victory.
FC Halifax Town
1 Sam Johnson ©, 4 Will Hugill (18 Florent Hoti 69), 5 Shaun Hobson, 9 Will Harris, 11 Angelo Cappello (20 Jack Jenkins 78), 15 Will Smith, 17 Owen Bray (7 Max Wright 69), 19 AJ Warburton, 27 Jay Turner-Cooke (3 Adam Adetoro 90), 30 Cody Johnson, 36 Thierry Latty-Fairweather
Subs: 12 Nat Ford, 16 Jevon Mills, 33 Tom Lavery
Morecambe
40 Jamal Blackman, 2 Lewis Payne, 3 Raheem Conte, 5 Harlee Dean, 7 Gwion Edwards ©, 8 Miguel Azeez, 17 Paul Lewis, 21 Joe Nuttall (42 Chris Popov 55), 28 Tommy Fogarty, 32 George Thomas (18 Ben Tollitt 74), 36 Jack Nolan
Subs: 41 Myles Boney, 15 Ben Williams, 19 Ma’kel Campbell, 29 Ashton McWilliams, 33 Timothy Akindileni
Referee Garreth Rhodes
Goals Harris 8, Turner-Cooke
Yellow Cards: Payne 28, Lewis 42, Popov 87, Hoti 89, Azeez 90, Turner-Cooke 90
Red Cards: None
Attendance: 1097 (140 away)
FC Halifax Town 1 Morecambe 0
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