FC Halifax Town entered today’s game making two changes from their Friday night clash with Dagenham and Redbridge. Florent Hoti and Owen Bray came into the side as the Shaymen prepared to take on 18th-placed Solihull Moors.
The first chance of any note came on the 8th minute mark, when Angelo Cappello’s whipped cross met the head of Jamie Cooke, whose header deflected off a Moors defender for a corner ball.
Moments later, a loose touch in midfield allowed Bray to pick up the ball before playing a nice one-two with Adan George. Bray then got a yard of space and the opportunity to shoot, but fired narrowly wide.
Town kept the ball well in the opening half hour, playing some nice football at times; however, it was Solihull Moors who opened the scoring. Jamey Osborne’s floated free kick found Olly Tipton, who headed the ball back across the box for Jordan Tunnicliffe to nod home from close range.
The final opportunity of the half came Town’s way. Andrew Oluwaburi was poorly fouled outside the area, resulting in a free kick. Florent Hoti whipped the ball into a dangerous area; however, no one was on hand to steer it home.
At halftime, it was the home side that had seen more of the ball; however, they had work to do in the second period if they wanted anything out of the game.
The first five minutes of the second half were dominated by the white shirts of the away side. A spell of pressure was followed by a James Gale effort, which Sam Johnson comfortably saved with his legs.
Following this short spell of dominance, Town managed to regain control of the match. A fizzing Oluwaburi strike was parried away by Moors keeper Laurie Walker before Cappello found Cooke in the area, whose shot was smartly blocked. Cappello was really starting to thrive out on the left wing, causing all sorts of problems for Tipton.
The Shaymen’s first change of the afternoon came just before the hour mark. Aaron Cosgrave replaced Adan George in a straight swap up front.
Once again, Cappello found space out wide before pulling the ball back to Hoti, whose effort was tipped over by Walker.
It was pure dominance from the Shaymen for large periods of the second half. Wave after wave of attack was brilliantly defended by the away side, much to the annoyance of the home fans. The Halifax center-backs were able to sit well inside the Moors half for large chunks of the second half, demonstrating the control that the men in blue had.
On the 80th minute mark, Town made another change, with Bray making way for Zak Emmerson.
Seven minutes were added on at the end of regulation time, much to the delight of the 1461 home fans. 20-year-old Frankie Sinfield came on during the additional time to make his first team debut replacing Jamie Cooke.
There was plenty of drama during stoppage time. Solihull substitute James Clarke was shown a straight red card for an incident off the ball. Town had 3 minutes left to play against 10 men to find an equaliser.
The last chance of the game came in the form of an Emmerson strike from the edge of the box, which narrowly rose over the bar.
Despite a brilliant second-half performance, Solihull Moors held on to claim all three points at the Shay for their second win of the season.
Match Stats
FC Halifax Town
1 Sam Johnson, 5 Adam Senior, 15 Will Smith, 27 Adam Adetoro, 11 Angelo Cappello, 26 Owen Bray (21 Zak Emmerson 79) 6 Jack Evans, 18 Florent Hoti, 22 Andrew Oluwabori, 10 Jamie Cooke (24 Frankie Sinfield 90 + 3), 19 Adan George (9 Aaron Cosgrave 57)
Subs: 12 Nathaniel Ford, 4 Festus Arthur, 20 Jack Jenkins, 23 Tom Pugh
Solihull Moors:
1 Laurie Walker, 3 Joe Newton, 4 Jamey Osbourne (2 James Clarke 83), 5 Alex Whitmore, 7 Jack Stevens, 8 Sam Bowen, 11 Matty Warburton (17 Joss Labadie 74), 15 John Bostock, 16 Olly Tipton (20 Jacob Pinnington 82), 18 James Gale (10 Connor Wilkinson 63), 19 Jordan Tunnicliffe
Subs: 13 Adam Flahavan, 14 Bradley Stevenson, 15 Kian Ryley
Referee: James Westgate
Goals: Tunnicliffe 30
Yellow Cards Osborne 26, Cooke 27, Newton 45, Bray 60, Stevens 87, Wilkinson 90
Red Cards: Clarke 90
Attendance: 1554 (93 away)
FC Halifax Town 0 Solihull Moors 1
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