FC Halifax Town had to settle for a point in Surrey after failing to break down the Woking defence.
Harvey Sutcliffe, Lewis Leigh, Tom Pugh, and Owen Bray came into Halifax’s starting eleven as they travelled to Woking. This was as well as new loan signing Toby Savin, who started in goal for the Shaymen.
7 minutes into the tie, the Shaymen were denied by the crossbar; Florent Hoti’s bouncing corner delivery beat everybody at the front post and ricocheted off of the bar.
Some lovely incisive football from Ryan Galvin, Jamie Cooke and Florent Hoti saw Sutcliffe clean through on goal, but he dragged his effort wide of the left-hand post. Moments later the first yellow card of the game was awarded as Dan Moss pulled down Owen Bray as he looked to break into the Woking box.
The first half an hour was dominated completely by the Shaymen; however, following this, the Cardinals did cause Halifax some issues in the final stages of the first half, most notably when Savin was forced into a good stop after Harry Beautyman’s delivery met the head of Inih Effiong. Following this, Adam Senior picked up a booking.
Beautyman again caused problems with his early deliveries, as this time the ball found Ashford at the back post, who really should have hit the target, but he saw his effort rise over the bar.
The first action of the second half saw Jacob Jones pick up a yellow card for a late challenge on Senior.
Woking’s main threat came from their set plays, and this time it was Chinwike Okoli who looked to nod towards goal; Josh Emmanuel did well to clear the ball from danger.
The Shaymen’s first change of the night was in the forward department as Sutcliffe made way for Zak Emmerson.
After shoving Adam Adetoro to the ground, Effiong delivered a ball towards the back post, where Dion Kelly-Evans was waiting in acres of space, but somehow he failed to hit the target. With twenty minutes to go, Jack Jenkins was then introduced; Lewis Leigh was the man withdrawn.
Adetoro took Town’s card tally to 2 for the game as he picked up a booking for delaying the restart; Woking then made their first substitutions as Lewis Walker and Jermaine Anderson replaced Sam Ashford and Sha’mar Lawson.
Once again it was a set piece that caused the Halifax defence trouble; a floated corner caused chaos in the box before dropping to the edge of the box where Jamie Andrews was waiting, but his effort sailed over Savin’s goal.
With 10 minutes to go, Florent Hoti had a set piece of his own to deliver from 25 yards out; he clipped the ball to the back post, where Emmerson slid in, but the home side managed to clear. Emmanuel then went on a driving run forward before letting fly from the edge of the box, but his effort was comfortable for Jaaskelainen.
The next passage of play was less comfortable for the Cards keeper. A trademark Hoti delivery was completely missed by the keeper, but in one way or another, the ball stayed out of the Woking net. Hoti was then booked for holding back Andrews as he looked to break.
Just before the conclusion of the 90 minutes, Dubem Eze made his debut after signing for the Town earlier in the day. The new man had a chance to win it at the end, but his strike was saved well; this turned out to be the last action of the game. For the third game in a row Halifax had failed to find the back of the net.
Match Stats
Woking
22 Will Jaaskelainen, 27 Dion Kelly-Evans, 4 Chinwike Okoli, 2 Dan Moss, 3 Jacob Jones, 16 Tunji Akinola, 29 Sha’mar Lawson (10 Lewis Walker 78), 6 Jamie Andrews, 7 Harry Beautyman ©, 20 Sam Ashford (23 Jermaine Anderson 78, 12 Inih Effiong
Subs: 28 Oliver Webber, 16 Tunji Odusina, 14 Tariq Hinds, 15 Adam Chicksen, 30 Frank Vincent
FC Halifax Town
31 Toby Savin, 16 Josh Emmanuel, 5 Adam Senior ©, 27 Adam Adetoro, 3 Ryan Galvin, 23 Tom Pugh, 28 Lewis Leigh (20 Jack Jenkins 69), 18 Florent Hoti, 10 Jamie Cooke, 26 Owen Bray (22 Dubem Eze 88), 14 Harvey Sutcliffe (21 Zak Emmerson 64)
Subs: 12 Nathaniel Ford, 17 Jimiel Chikukwa, 22 Dubem Eze 29 Sean Tarima
Referee: Isaac Searle
Goals: None
Yellow Cards: Moss 29, Senior 37, Jones 47, Adetoro 73, Hoti 88, Andrews 88
Red Cards: None
Attendance: 1626 (84 away)
Woking 0 FC Halifax Town 0
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