FC Halifax Town went out of the FA Cup in the 4th qualifying round with a 4-2 defeat away at Oldham Athletic
Chris Millington made two changes with Tom Pugh and Florent Hoti replaced by Jack Evans and Jamie Cooke.
It was Town who started on the front foot, Ryan Galvin & Jack Evans combined, the cross was blocked for the first corner of the game. It was taken short, and Oldham won the ball back
A foul on Will Smith by former Town striker Fondop by the by-line got the Shay travelling fans irate, but no cards given.
The first goal of the came in the 10th minute, Josh Lundstram burst into the box and his low cross across goal gave Fondop a tap in for his 6th goal of the campaign.
Town looked to bounce back, Wright did well on the right-hand side and his cross was blocked for another corner. Evans ball into the box was palmed away by Matthew Hudson. The ball back in was cleared for a third corner but Oldham was able to deal with the balls into the box with no issue.
A cross from the right-hand side met Fondop however he was always going away from goal making the header easy for Sam Johnson to claim.
Town worked the ball to Huddersfield Town on loan midfielder Scott High, he skipped past a couple of challenges, but his effort was dragged wide of Hudson’s goal.
A foul by Tom Conlon on Jamie Cooke gave the Shaymen a freekick outside the box. Scott High’s effort was always rising over the bar.
Max Wright was the next to have an effort in the 19th minute, Galvin found Wright, but his effort was tame and easy for Hudson.
Oluwabori took the ball in midfield with shouts of handball from the home fans, he raced towards goal and fired a shot wide of the target
Oldham nearly doubled their lead in the 23rd minute, Kane Drummond was onside gone around Johnson who tried to hold him up, the ball was played back and Fondop’s effort was cleared off the line.
The home side made it 2-0 in the 28th minute. Drummond got in behind again, went around Johnson and his effort was blocked but Josh Lundstram was on hand to tap home
A mistake from Sam Johnson gifted Fondop his second goal of the season, who was never going to miss an empty goal to make it 3-0.
Town pulled one back in the 36th minute, Oluwabori raced at goal and he found Billy Waters who fired past Hudson to make it 3-1
Oldham worked the ball to Fondop in the box, he had time to turn and shoot but his effort went high over the bar.
The home side regained their three goal lead on 41 minutes. A cross from Will Sutton was turned past Johnson by the unfortunate Scott High
Oldham made a change at the start of the second half with Lundstram off for Josh Kay
A cross from the left hand side looked for Drummond or Ogle, Kane Drummond opted for an overhead kick easy for Johnson.
Town’s first change came as Owen Bray on for Scott High in the 52nd minute
Cummings lost the ball in the 56th minute, Fondop found Drummond on the left hand side of the box but his effort was straight at Johnson
Owen Bray’s cross was cleared only to Galvin but his header onto the top of the net
Second substitution saw Florent Hoti on for Will Smith as Town changed formation. Town found Cooke at the edge of the box, good persistence from him but his shot was not troubling Hudson.
Hoti released Waters whose shot was blocked by Hudson, but the offside flag was up against the Town frontman
A third Town change saw Adan George on for Wright as Town boss Chris Millington looked to find something to change the score-line.
Oluwabori found Cooke on the left hand side of the box, his low ball across goal was just wide by Billy Waters under pressure at the near post.
Oluwabori shot was saved by Hudson, fell to Waters but hit him and came off him for a goal kick when it looked like it would have been a second Town goal.
Kay had an effort from the edge of the box, his low shot saved by Johnson in rare Oldham move in the second half.
Great play by Drummond took him past Galvin, his pass found Kay and his curling effort deflected wide for a corner.
Town pulled another back, Florent Hoti’s ball into the box from a freekick was headed into the net by Jo Cummings for 4-2
As the Shaymen looked for a third goal, Oluwabori had plenty of time but his shot from distance was over the bar
A long throw into the box found Kay at the edge of his box, his first time effort saved by Johnson
A spirited second half performance saw Town have plenty of possession and opportunities but the damage was done in the first half.
Oldham will go into the 1st round draw on Monday night, 7pm on BBC2.
1 Hudson, 2 Ogle (20 Jake Caprice 89), 3 Kitching, 6 Monthe, 8 Lundstam (11 Kay 46), 9 Fondop (30 James Norwood 81), 10 Conlon, 16 Raglan, 19 Gardner, 21 Sutton, 31 Drummond (17 Uchegbulam 77)
Subs: Moloney, Garner, Stretton
1 Sam Johnson © 3 Ryan Galvin, 5 Adam Senior, 15 Will Smith (18 Florent Hoti 57), 2 Jo Cummings, 30 Scott High (26 Owen Bray 52), 6 Jack Evans 10 Jamie Cooke, 29 Billy Waters, 7 Max Wright (19 Adan George 61), 22 Andrew Oluwabori
Subs: 12 Nathan Ford, 27 Adam Adetoro, 23 Tom Pugh 14 Harvey Sutcliffe
Referee: Richard Aspinall
Goals: Fondop 10 32, Lundstrum 28, Waters 36, High (og) 41, Cummings 76
Yellow Cards: Conlon 21
Red Cards: None
Attendance: 3246 (759 away)
Oldham Athletic 4 FC Halifax Town 2
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