FC Halifax Town blew two goal lead as Wealdstone rallied late to earn a point.
A Josh Hmami penalty and Cody Johnson’s first for the club put Halifax in pole position to go on and win the match however Wealdstone had other ideas, an inspired Dominic Hutchinson netted the first for the visitors before playing a big role in the second as Halifax were made to settle for a point.
There were just two changes to the Shaymen lineup following the emphatic victory against FC United of Manchester in the FA Trophy. Max Wright made his first start back after a long period out through injury, whilst Angelo Cappello was also named back in the starting eleven. Will Hugill and AJ Warburton were the two who missed out as a result.
It was a lightning start for the Shaymen. A passage of interchange between Thierry Latty-Fairweather and Cappello resulted in the latter putting a low ball into the box. Josh Hmami flicked it back to the prolific Will Harris, but his effort was palmed away by Dante Baptiste.
Moments later, the left-hand side became a threat once more. Latty-Fairweather played the ball to Cappello, who then pushed it onto Hmami; his shot was excellently tipped onto the bar by Baptiste.
The away side did grow into the game, and it became a level contest, with both teams looking to work the ball wide, the Stones looking to particularly target set pieces.
As the game ticked past the 30-minute mark, Sam Johnson was forced into a save to keep the scores level. Sak Hassan’s shot was redirected by Cappello’s outstretched leg, forcing Johnson to react sharply down to his right.
In a tight and cagey first half, Town were offered a golden chance to pull ahead from the 12-yard spot. Cappello drove into the box before Deon Woodman got man and ball, forcing the referee to point to the spot. Hmami stepped up and calmly lifted the ball into the roof of the net to put the home side ahead.
It took Halifax just two minutes into the second period to double their advantage. A Wealdstone corner turned into a Halifax counter in the blink of an eye. The move started through Max Wright, who played a nice ball down the channel which Cappello latched onto. He knocked it past Terrell Agyemang and drove into the box before squaring into the path of Cody Johnson, who had the net at his mercy as he made it two-nil.
The second half was all Halifax, and Bray would have made it three if not for Baptiste in the Stones net. Turner-Cooke picked him out after some nice footwork, which Bray struck first time; the keeper reacted superbly, however, to tip it behind for a corner.
Town’s first substitution saw Will Hugill replace Owen Bray.
With 15 minutes to play, Harris thought he had made it three after tucking away Wright’s delivery; however, the linesman was quick to rule this out. Following this, Lakeland made another two changes as Harris and Wright were replaced by Devonport and Mills. In this time, former Town man Daniel Nkrumah also entered the fray for the visitors.
With ten minutes to play, Wealdstone found a lifeline. Despite having little of the game in the second period, the visitors were back in it through Dominic Hutchinson. It was Anthony Georgiou’s delivery that caused problems initially. The ball then appeared to go out for a goal kick, but Wealdstone were rewarded for playing to the whistle and slotted home to cause a frantic final ten minutes. Will Smith was booked following his protestations.
Wealdstone looked mightily encouraged by their goal and pushed hard to level the affair. Turner-Cooke was next to go into the book for Town as he kicked the ball away. David Kawa then returned to league action as he replaced Cappello.
After five minutes of added time were signalled, there was a sense around The Shay that this game wasn’t over yet – and it wasn’t. Hutchinson looked to deliver a cross into the box, but it deflected off Latty-Fairweather and, fortunately for the Stones, looped over Johnson to level proceedings.
The last chance of the game was a golden one and nearly saw Halifax clinch it at the death. Substitutes Hugill and Kawa combined as the latter was slipped through one-on-one, but his shot rose high and wide before the referee blew for full time.
FC Halifax Town
1 Sam Johnson ©, 3 Adam Adetoro, 7 Max Wright (16 Jevon Mills 78), 8 Josh Hmami, 9 Will Harris (31 Owen Devonport 78), 11 Angelo Cappello (22 David Kawa 86), 15 Will Smith, 17 Owen Bray (4 Will Hugill 72), 27 Jay Turner-Cooke, 30 Cody Johnson, 36 Thierry Latty-Fairweather
Subs: 12 Nat Ford, 5 Shaun Hobson, 20 Jack Jenkins
Wealdstone
1 Dante Baptiste, 2 Jack Cook © (29 Junior Tiensia 46), 3 Anthony Georgiou, 4 Omar Mussa, 5 Deon Woodman, 11 Sakariya Hassan, 14 Micah Obiero (19 Daniel Nkrumah 76), 17 Dom Hutchinson, 20 Nathan Tshikuna (9 Olufela Olomola 76), 22 Connor McAvoy, 23 Terrell Agyemang
Subs: 13 Endurance Johnson, 8 Dylan Kadji, 16 Moussa Diarra, 32 Steven Turner
Goals: Hmami 38 pen, C Johnson 48, Hutchinson 80, 90 +2
Yellow Cards: Mussa 38, Hutchinson 45, Cook 45 + 2, Smith 80, Turner-Cooke 84, Hobson 90
Red Cards: None
Attendance: 1285 (76 away)
FC Halifax Town 2 Wealdstone 2
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