Following FC Halifax Town’s goalless draw away in Brackley, we take a look at the handful of other fixtures that took place in the Vanarama National League North.
First off, we start with what was a rare Tuesday night fixture for the Shaymen, where not only would they make up their games in hand, but they also had the opportunity to leapfrog Kidderminster Harriers into second place.
However, this was sadly not to be the case. A far from thrilling encounter at St James’ Park saw Town struggle to create many meaningful chances, as the home side proved resilient in their defensive set up.
The Shaymen were the most in-form of the two sides going into the game, having three wins in a row under their belt as they got underway. However, Brackley were not a side to be taken lightly, picking up seven points from their last three outings.
In fact, it was the home side who provided the most attacking threat in the first half as Sam Johnson was forced into a double save in what was the best chance of the half. Both Steve Diggin and Glenn Walker seeing their efforts denied by the on-loan ‘keeper.
However, the second half was a different story as Town stepped up their game. Richard Peniket was allowed more space to drive forward as Town’s attacking threat came down the wings.
Although, there was one crucial moment where the game could have been killed off.
Scott Garner strayed forward following Josh Wilde’s hard work on the left. Wilde’s pass saw Garner three yards out, but he could only direct the shot over the woodwork, much to the dismay of the travelling support.
All in all, another point on the board means the Shaymen are now four games unbeaten as they look to cement their place in the play-off places.
Elsewhere in our league, Stalybridge Celtic gave their hopes of survival a massive boost following their 2-0 away win over Alfreton Town.
Celtic, who were finally playing one of their three games in hand, took the lead late in the first half through Danny Wisdom before Andy Bishop doubled their lead just seven minutes into the second half.
The win means Stalybridge are now ten points from safety, with another two games in hand left to play in what will be a tight schedule for the Manchester outfit.
Finally, a second draw of the night’s fixtures saw Nuneaton Town and Gloucester City share the spoils following their 1-1 stalemate at Liberty Way.
For long periods of the game, it was looking like Nuneaton would be taking the full three points after Billy Daniels’ penalty opened the scoring just shy of the 40 minute mark. For Gloucester, the one goal deficit remained until the dying moments as they pulled back a last minute equaliser through Sam Avery.
A painful end to what was a mostly positive game for the home side, who move up to thirteenth as a result of the extra point.
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