FC Halifax Town secured a strong 2-0 victory over Yeovil Town this afternoon, with second-half goals from Cody Johnson and Will Flint making the difference. Despite a competitive first half, Town took control after the break, with The Glovers eventually reduced to ten men.
The Shaymen got the game underway, with both sides starting strongly and creating early opportunities. Town defended well, denying The Glovers the chance to take an early lead.
Yeovil began to take control after five minutes, applying pressure and breaking through Town’s midfield, but The Glovers couldn’t find a way past the partnership of Flint and Hobson.
The visitors had a great chance inside 20 minutes after a loose pass between Tommy McDermott and Connor Douglas was intercepted. Zain Westbrooke carried the ball forward, with Cody Johnson and Deniche Hill charging back, but True Grant came to the rescue with a brilliant save to keep Town level.
The Shaymen had a chance of their own in the 25th minute. Douglas made a lovely run, skipping past two defenders before firing the ball into the box. The winger found Carty, whose brilliant headed effort forced a great save from Josiah Barker.
Yeovil made their first change in the 26th minute, with captain Brett McGavin being replaced by Archie Davies.
Town came close again two minutes later after Cody Johnson sent a beautifully weighted long ball towards Carty. The forward brought it down brilliantly before finding Douglas, but the winger fired his effort over the bar.
Seb Naylor received the first booking in the 39th minute after pulling debutant Lucas Houghton to the ground.
Yeovil almost carved their way ahead a minute later, but some brilliant defending from Deniche Hill allowed Town to get men back and deny The Glovers.
Cody Johnson and Hayden Muller were both shown yellow cards in first-half stoppage time following a confrontation, with Johnson booked for retaliating.
Yeovil got the second half underway, but The Shaymen applied the pressure from the start, although The Glovers defended well to keep themselves level.
Archie Davies received a yellow card in the 56th minute following a foul on Ben Tollit, giving Town a free kick in a dangerous position.
Cody Johnson stepped up and made it count, striking a brilliant free kick into the bottom-left corner past Barker to put The Shaymen ahead. Johnson grabbed his first goal of the season in style, leading by example.
Will Hugill received a yellow card in the 62nd minute following a shirt pull, before Yeovil came close to responding two minutes later after a dangerous long ball pierced Town’s defence.
Ben Tollit was also booked in the 65th minute after pushing a Yeovil player to the ground.
The Shaymen doubled their lead in the 67th minute through some brilliant team play. Tollit carried the ball forward, playing a creative one-two with Shaun Hobson before firing the ball back into the box, where Will Flint only needed a touch to double Town’s advantage, grabbing his first goal for the club in the process.
Things went from bad to worse for Yeovil in the 69th minute after substitute Archie Davies received a second yellow card following a bad challenge on Tollit just outside The Glovers’ box, reducing the visitors to ten men.
Town made their first changes in the 73rd minute, with Tayt Trusty replacing Cody Johnson and Dylan Crowe coming on for Deniche Hill.
Yeovil also made changes, with Mason Obeng replacing Seb Naylor, Owen Dean replacing Slavi Spasov and Loick Ayina coming on for Zain Westbrooke.
The Shaymen made further changes in the 77th minute as Amari Morgan-Smith replaced Tommy McDermott and Zak Gilsenan came on for Will Hugill.
Town made their final substitution in the 84th minute, with Owen Bray replacing Ben Tollit.
It was a brilliant afternoon for The Shaymen, who made their second-half opportunities count to secure all three points. Johnson’s first goal of the season and Flint’s first goal for the club proved decisive as Town came away with a well-earned victory over The Glovers.
FC Halifax Town
33 True Grant, 31 Lucas Houghton, 8 Will Flint, 5 Shaun Hobson, 16 Deniche Hill (23 Dylan Crowe), 30 Cody Johnson © (20 Tayt Trusty), 4 Will Hugill (10 Zak Gilsenan 79), 11 Connor Douglas, 24 Tommy McDermott (14 Amari Morgan-Smith 79) 17 Ben Tollitt (7 Owen Bray 84), 9 Conor Carty
Subs: 13 Kobe Mathews, 6 Mackenzie Maltby
Yeovil Town
1 Josiah Barker, 4 Hayden Miller, 5 Jack Kingdon, 10 Ryan Jones, 11 James Daly, 14 Brett McGavin (12 Archie Davies 26), 15 Joe Gubbins, 19 Slavi Spasov (18 Owen Dean), 20 Johl Powell, 24 Seb Naylor (7 Mason Obeng), 25 Zain Westbrooke (6 Loick Ayina)
Subs: 22 Matthew Gould, 9 Stephen Walker, , 27 Charlie Lennon
Referee: Ben Toner
Goals: Johnson 59, Flint 67
Yellow Cards: Naylor 40, Muller 45 +, C Johnson 45 +1, Davies 58, Hugill 62, Tollitt 64
Red Cards: Davies 69
Attendance: 1286 (196 away)
FC Halifax Town 2 Yeovil Town 0
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