FC Halifax Town edged a thrilling contest at The Shay with a 3–2 victory over Yeovil Town. Owen Bray’s first-half strike gave the Shaymen a deserved lead at the break, before a frantic second half saw Junior Morias and Zac Greenslade turn the game in the visitors’ favour. But Halifax showed character to rally, with Bray netting his second and substitute Will Harris firing home the winner late on to seal all three points in front of the home crowd at the Shay.
The Shaymen were unchanged heading into Saturday Afternoons clash against Yeovil. Meanwhile ex Halifax man Tahvon Campbell was named on the bench for Yeovil.
The first opportunity of the game came when Owen Bray, Cody Johnson and David Kawa combined neatly. Kawa received the ball inside the box and looked set to get a shot away, but a last-ditch tackle denied him at the vital moment.
Just minutes later, Yeovil threatened through Cameron McGavin, who picked out Zac Greenslade with a superb through ball. Greenslade finished smartly, but the flag was immediately raised for offside.
Halifax responded with pressure of their own. Sean Tarima whipped in a dangerous cross that narrowly evaded Kawa in the area, before the loose ball fell kindly to Bray. His powerful long-range effort, however, was gathered well by visiting goalkeeper Jed Ward. Moments later, Jay Turner-Cooke tried his luck from distance, forcing Ward into a fine acrobatic save to tip the strike over the bar.
In a half of few clear-cut chances, it was Halifax who broke the deadlock in stoppage time. A flowing move down the right saw Jamie Cooke deliver a wicked cross that caused chaos in the Yeovil defence. A defender’s attempted clearance fell awkwardly back towards Ward, who spilled the ball under pressure. Kawa reacted quickly, showing composure to lay the ball off for Bray, who calmly slotted into an empty net to give the Shaymen a deserved 1–0 lead at the break.
Just five minutes into the second period Cody Johnsons rash challenge gave the green and white hoops of Yeovil a chance to equalise from 12 yards. Junior Morias slotted home to draw level.
Before Halifax could settle, they found themselves behind. A dazzling run down the right flank from Josh Sims saw him glide beyond Thierry Latty-Fairweather before whipping in a teasing cross. Greenslade met it perfectly, guiding the ball inside the near post and leaving Johnson with no chance. In response, the Shaymen introduced Will Harris and Angelo Cappello from the bench.
The changes made an instant impact, as Halifax were soon level once more. Replicating the style of their opener, David Kawa again turned provider, beating his man before sliding a low ball across the area. Owen Bray arrived to slot a composed finish into the bottom-right corner, restoring parity for the home side.
With ten minutes remaining, Halifax edged back in front. Johnson and Josh Hmami combined neatly before Hmami delivered to the back post. Adetoro failed to connect with his header, but Will Harris reacted sharply, smashing home a volley into the roof of the net to make it 3–2.
The visitors almost struck back immediately. A long ball forward found Aaron Jarvis, whose knockdown fell kindly for Alex Whittle, but his close-range volley flew narrowly over the bar, sparing the Shaymen a late setback.
The away side then came knocking once more through Jarvis, his back post header ricocheted back off the post. Will Harris had a chance to seal it late on but his miss wasn’t an issue as the referee blew for full time.
1 Sam Johnson ©, 3 Adam Adetoro, 4 Will Hugill (20 Jack Jenkins 88), 8 Josh Hmami, 10 Jamie Cooke (9 Will Harris 60), 17 Owen Bray (26 Jake Griffin 90), 22 David Kawa (25 Tom Pugh 88), 27 Jay Turner-Cooke, 29 Sen Tarima, 30 Cody Johnson, 36 Thierry Latty-Fairweather (11 Angelo Cappello 60)
Subs: 12 Nathaniel Ford, 14 Harvey Sutcliffe,
1 Jed Ward, 2 Byron Pembleton (5 Finn Cousin-Dawson 76), 3 Alex Whittle, 4 Morgan Williams, 6 Jake Wannell ©, 7 Junior Morais, 8 Luke McCormick, 14 Brett McGavin, 18 James Plant, 19 Josh Sims (29 Tahvon Campbell 71), 21 Harvey Sutcliffe (9 Aaron Jarvis 76)
Subs: 22 Matthew Gould, 10 Ben Wodskou, 26 Kyle Ferguson
5 Finn Cousin-Dawson,
Referee: Richard Aspinall
Goals: Bray 45 + 1, 65 Morais (pen) 52, Greenslade 58, Harris 80
Yellow Cards: C Johnson 51, Cooke, Greenslade 62, Campbell 73, Turner-Cooke 90, Cappello 90
Red Cards: None
Attendance: 1280 (143 away)
FC Halifax Town 3 Yeovil Town 2
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