FC Halifax Town came from 2-0 down to win 3-2 against Tamworth at the Shay with a thrilling second half performance
Town boss Chris Millington made one change to the starting XI with Tom Pugh for Owen Bray from last Saturday’s draw against Wealdstone.
It took just three minutes for the game’s opening goal. A free kick from deep allowed Jas Singh to punt the ball forward. This led to a scramble in the box which saw Tamworth win the second ball, this allowed Haydn Hollis to lob the ball over Sam Johnson for his first goal of the season.
Things got worse for Halifax as Florent Hoti picked up a booking in the early stages of the affair.
Andrew Oluwabori was able to find space out wide, he then cut in and laid the ball off to Scott High, who saw his effort rise over the bar.
Tamworth had an early blow of their own. Skipper Ben Milnes had to be replaced following an injury. Tom Tonks came on to replace him.
It looked certain to be 2-0 Tamworth just before the twenty-minute mark. Dan Creaney had space to turn inside the box before unleashing a powerful strike towards the bottom corner, however Sam Johnson did brilliantly to get down to deny the number nine.
Tamworth doubled their lead on the half hour mark. Florent Hoti failed to clear following a ball into the box and this gave Creaney the chance to get another shot off. This time Johnson couldn’t keep his effort out and the ball found the back of the net.
Following the goal, Tamworth had to make another change, forced through injury. Kyle Finn replaced George Morrison.
The rest of the half fell into a slight lull as Halifax tried to pull one back before the break. There was no way through at the end of five minutes of additional time, and the visitors went into the break two goals to the good.
The Shaymen made a double switch at the break. Owen Bray and Jack Evans took the places of Florent Hoti and Tom Pugh.
The opening fifteen minutes of the second half was a game of attack vs defense. Tamworth were quite happy sitting and protecting their lead.
Jamie Cooke came on for Town on the hour mark in the hope of adding some firepower to the attacking unit. Ryan Galvin was taken off as a result.
Cooke made an instant impact. Max Wright fed Cooke down the line and his dangerous ball found Billy Waters, who converted for his second goal of the season.
Halifax nearly equalized just a minute later when Waters broke free once more and found Oluwabori. He then smartly turned on the edge of the box before rattling the crossbar with his bending effort.
With 20 minutes to go, Tamworth made their third change of the afternoon. Matt Curley replaced Thomas McGlinchey.
Following this, Halifax found a deserved equaliser. The ball fell kindly to super sub Cooke, whose powerful strike took a slight deflection on the way towards goal, giving Jas Singh no chance.
Another flurry of subs from each side saw Adan George replace Oluwabori, Goalscorer Dan Creaney off for Chris Wreh and Beck-Ray Enoru replace Ben Acquaye.
Town did complete the turnaround in the 87th minute courtesy of a Scott High screamer. Owen Brays’ short pass found High, who lined up for an audacious effort from 25 yards which nestled into the top left corner.
There were five minutes of additional time for Halifax to hang on for a valuable three points.
Tamworth did have another chance from Tom Tonks’ dangerous long throws late on, but Jordan Cullinane-Liburd couldn’t direct his acrobatic effort on target.
After five intense minutes, Halifax could celebrate all three points as the referee blew for full-time.
FC Halifax Town:
1 Sam Johnson ©, 3 Ryan Galvin (10 Jamie Cooke 60) , 5 Adam Senior, 15 Will Smith, 2 Jo Cummings, 30 Scott High, 23 Tom Pugh (6 Jack Evans46), 18 Florent Hoti (26 Owen Bray 46) 29 Billy Waters, 7 Max Wright, 22 Andrew Oluwabori (19 Adan George)
Subs: 12 Nathan Ford, 14 Harvey Sutcliffe, , 27 Adam Adetoro
Tamworth:
1 Jas Singh, 18 Jordan Cullinane-Liburd, 5 Kennedy Digie, 26 Haydn Hollis, 11 Luke Fairlamb, 8 Ben Milnes © (4 Tom Tonks 17), 15 George Morrison (7 Kyle Kinn 37), 20 Nathan Tsikuna, 16 Ben Acquaye (22 Beck-Ray Enoru 83), 9 Dan Creaney (12 Chris Wreh), 19 Thomas McGlinchey (2 Matt Curley 71)
Subs: 21 Leon Phillips, 27 Miracle Okafor
Referee: Tom Reeves
Goals: Hollis 4, Creaney 32, Waters 61, Cooke 73, High 87
Yellow Cards: Hoti 12
Red Cards: None
Attendance: 1480 (93 away)
FC Halifax Town 3 Tamworth 2
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