George Waring shines on Town debut but cannot prevent disappointing draw.
Scoring on your debut is always the dream way to start and Waring would have thought he’d stolen all the headlines but Torquay rained on his parade on a gloomy Saturday afternoon at the Shay.
Halifax looked dangerous going forward however it always seemed to be a game that would need some kind of spark to really get it going.
Waring looked very sharp in his first start for Halifax after signing on a short loan from Tranmere, especially considering he was thrown straight into the starting eleven and showed some neat turns and passes looked close to unlocking the Torquay back line.
The forward started as he meant to go on as he exchanged a neat give-and-go with Ben Tomlinson, who was given the nod ahead of Adam Morgan, but the number 14 was unable to poke the ball past goalkeeper Vincent Dorel.
Torquay looked to respond immediately as the away side countered at pace with Young who slid the ball into Higgins who just had the goalkeeper at his mercy but his well struck shot was straight at Johnson and a chance wasted.
As the first half wore on both teams became a bit sloppy in their passing and Town were nearly caught out after all their hard work as Josh Wilde’s poor pass gifted possession to Murphy who was brought down by Garner on the edge of the box and gave Torquay a dangerous opportunity.
The resulting free kick was struck by Young and was nearly 1-0 to the away side if not for a brilliant diving save by Johnson to tip the low effort round the outside of the post and keep the game scoreless.
Waring, formerly of Stoke City, nearly squeezed a shot in at the near post, after Brown headed a Connor Oliver corner back across the box but it was well blocked by Torquay but it was promising signs from the new acquisition.
There was a slight scare for goalkeeper Johnson as he came out to claim a loose ball and was greeted with roars from the Torquay bench who felt he carried the ball outside of his 18 yard box but referee Simeon Lucas waved away the protests.
If this game was anything to go by, Waring looks to be an inspired signing as again he looked to create, spinning on the edge of the box and sliding the ball through to Nathan Hotte who went down under challenge but no penalty given.
The Shaymen looked increasingly dangerous in this game but had to be wary of Torquay’s counter attacking ability as the home side flooded men forward after increasingly long spells of possession and probably didn’t want half time to come.
Torquay came out all guns blazing in the second half and nearly took the lead just a minute after the restart, as Town found themselves caught out as Davis overlapped and latched onto a through ball but his shot was well stopped by Johnson at his near post.
But it was Halifax who took the lead. A deep free kick put the Torquay defence under all kinds of pressure as it bobbled around the box and Waring was the first to react to slam the ball into the back of the net to send the home fans into raptures.
A deserved goal for the forward and for the team as a whole, who looked good value for their lead.
However, it wasn’t long before the scores were all even again, another set piece as a great corner was met by Murphy who’s flicked header left Johnson stranded as it hit the post but was turned in by Reid on the rebound.
A poor goal to concede and against the run of play, but Halifax struggled to create much after the away side’s equaliser. A few distant efforts from Morgan in the last five minutes were no trouble for Dorel and both sides walk away with a point from the Shay.
A disappointing result for Town against a side that have only won one game this season, however a hard fought point to take into the Tuesday night fixture against Maidstone United and the lads can draw confidence from how they played and especially the impact from new signing George Waring.
Thank you again for all your support.
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