FC Halifax Town come from behind twice to earn a point against Wealdstone.
Owen Bray and Andrew Oluwabori came into the side for today’s home clash against Wealdstone in place of Jamie Cooke and Jack Evans.
An early foul saw the vastly experienced Adrian Mariappa pick up a booking within the first few minutes of the tie.
Halifax had the best of the opening exchanges, but a series of corners and crosses came to nothing.
A loose pass by Jo Cummings saw a Wealdstone man take aim from the edge of the area, but his effort was palmed away by Sam Johnson in the Shaymen net. Billy Waters then had a chance of his own up the other end of the pitch, but his tame effort was caught comfortably by Samuel Howes.
Jo Cummings started the game excellently, making a number of blocks and tackles. This meant Wealdstone had few chances in the opening half an hour.
A foul in the box gave Wealdstone a golden chance to take the lead with a penalty. Sam Ashford converted the following penalty straight down the middle.
Halifax responded well to going behind well; a sustained period of pressure ended with another Billy Waters effort that bounced into the keepers’ hands.
Wealdstone went into the break a goal up despite a fairly even affair.
Town started brightly once again in the second half. Florent Hoti received the ball on the turn and let fly from 25 yards, but his effort rose just over the bar. Andrew Oluwabori then laid the ball off to Owen Bray, whose curling shot went just wide of the post.
Max Wright’s run down the right ended up drawing a foul from Enzio Boldewijn for the game’s second penalty and a chance for the Shaymen to equalize. Like Ashford’s penalty, Florent Hoti slotted away comfortably down the middle of the goal.
Just minutes after conceding, Wealdstone took the lead once more. Micah Obiero picked up the ball on the edge of the box before giving Johnson the eyes and placing the ball into the net at the near post. Obiero once had a spell with Town on loan in 2021, where he made one appearance.
Halifax made two changes shortly after the Wealdstone goal as Tom Pugh and Angelo Cappello entered the fray in place of Owen Bray and Ryan Galvin.
Halifax tried to respond once more through Oluwabori; he linked up nicely with Scott High down the left-hand side before trying to place the ball into the far corner, but his effort looped over the bar.
With just under twenty minutes to go, Max Wright raced towards the away side box. He tried to take the ball around Mariappa, who fouled the forward. The referee deemed the challenge enough for a second yellow, and Wealdstone were down to 10 for the last period of the match.
Shortly after this, Jamie Cooke replaced Andrew Oluwabori for Town’s third change of the match.
Halifax came inches away from leveling with ten minutes to go. A wonderful Cappello ball found Cooke in the area, whose header hit the underside of the bar and somehow bounced out much to the relief of the away side.
Wright’s quick footwork once again won Halifax a free kick from a dangerous position, but Hoti’s resulting effort was easily caught by the Wealdstone shot stopper.
Hoti had another effort just minutes later, which Howes palmed away. Waters then had a chance from close range, but Howes once again denied the Shaymen, who were having an exceptional game.
High then linked up with Pugh in the last minute of the ninety, but his effort clipped the top of the bar and went behind for a Wealdstone goal kick.
Finally, Town found the leveller late on; a Cappello ball found Tom Pugh, who tapped home for his first for the club. Seven minutes were added for either side to find a winner.
Both sides were forced to settle for a point following a very entertaining affair.
Match Stats:
FC Halifax Town
1 Sam Johnson, 5 Adam Senior, 15 Will Smith, 2 Jo Cummings, 3 Ryan Galvin (11 Angelo Cappello 63), 26 Owen Bray (23 Tom Pugh 68), 30 Scott High, 18 Florent Hoti, 7 Max Wright, 22 Andrew Oluwabori (10 Jamie Cooke 76) 29 Billy Waters
Subs: 12 Nathaniel Ford, 4 Festus Arthur, 14 Harvey Sutcliffe, 19 Adan George
Wealdstone
31 Sam Howes, 5 Alex Dyer, 6 Mason Barrett (32 Brandon Mason 71) 7 Enzio Boldewijn, 14 Micah Obiero (17 Dominic Hutchinson 83), 19 Adrian Mariappa, 20 Samuel Ashford (21 Kallum Tracey-Cesay 78), 23 Jaydn Mundle-Smith, 25 Jack Wells-Morrison, 26 Elliott Thorpe (3 Anthony Geogiou 85), 29 Callum McFarlane (18 Christian Scott 90 + 4)
Subs: 13 Jacob Adams, 24 Henry Sandat
Referee: Steven Copeland
Goals Ashford 35 (pen), Hoti 52 (pen), Obiero 60,Pugh 90
Yellow Cards: Mariappa 3, Galvin 27, Mundle-Smith 43, Dyer 67, Thorpe 84, Hutchinson 85
Red Cards: Mariappa 73
Attendance: 1442 (95 away)
FC Halifax Town 2 Wealdstone 2
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