A fast start saw the Shaymen race into a two-goal lead; however, a York penalty and late header deep into injury time saw both teams come away from the Yorkshire Derby with a point.
Three changes were made for the Shaymen for this highly anticipated Yorkshire clash. In came Tom Pugh, Luca Thomas, and Florent Hoti as he returned to the starting lineup following an injury.
Unbelievably, Halifax found themselves 2-0 up after just two minutes played. A poor touch from a York City defender gave Town a corner in the first minute, which was whipped into the box; former York man Adam Senior rose highest to power the ball home for his third league goal of the campaign.
Almost immediately following the restart, Tom Pugh doubled the away side’s lead. Another loose touch within the Minstermen ranks gave Pugh the opportunity to drive forward before finding the bottom left-hand corner with a lovely driven effort.
The two-goal lead wasn’t a long one. After a quarter of an hour played, Ollie Pearce was clipped in the box, giving the home side a golden chance from 12 yards. The league’s top goal scorer, Pearce, stepped up before calmly dispatching high into the middle of the net.
Minutes later, York had a big chance to level; the goalscorer turned provider as Pearce threaded a lovely ball into the path of Tyrese Sinclair, but his effort was smothered well by Sam Johnson.
Ryan Galvin was the first into the book in this feisty all-Yorkshire affair as he was penalised on the 25th-minute mark.
There was a large stoppage in play as Ryan Fallowfield looked to overextend his leg when trying to control the ball; former Halifax player of the year Jeff King was the man to replace him.
Following the opening moments of the game, it was largely York City who enjoyed the majority of possession in the first half; eleven minutes were added at the end of the first period in which Callum Howe had a chance to get York’s second goal. A driven corner to the back post was met well by Howe, but a fingertip save from Sam Johnson kept the Shaymen ahead.
Jamie Cooke and Luca Thomas were the next to be shown the yellow by referee Scott Simpson, which brought Halifax’s yellow card tally to 3 for the half.
Following the restart, it was Halifax who started the quicker, Scott High had an effort from the edge of the area before it was Adam Adetoro’s turn to test the young York keeper.
Fifteen minutes into the second half, York City put together their best move of the game; following this, Sinclair let fly, but a brilliant diving Johnson save denied the 24-year-old.
The first changes of the game saw Nathaniel George and Marvin Armstrong come on for the home side, while Chris Millington introduced Max Wright and Angelo Cappello for goal scorer Pugh and Florent Hoti.
Minutes later, Luca Thomas then made way for the lively Zak Emmerson.
With 15 minutes to go, York stepped up the pressure; a series of corners were delivered for Halifax to deal with before the home side introduced a duo of changes in the form of Lenell John-Lewis and Daniel Batty. Almost immediately after his introduction, Batty picked up a yellow.
A further 9 minutes were added to the end of the second half, taking the total injury time for the game to twenty minutes. Halifax had to dig deep, and a late challenge from Callum John gave the Shaymen a chance to catch a breath as the referee once more brandished his yellow card.
After defending a York attack, Scott High looked to break forward, but a very dangerous challenge from Ashley Nathaniel George halted the counterattack. As a result, the York man received a straight red card.
It was late heartbreak for Halifax, with 100 minutes on the clock. Callum Howe leapt clear of the Shaymen defence to nod home. For the second time this season, it was York who scored late to deny the Town important points.
York City
1 Harrison Male, 2 Ryan Fallowfield (31 Jeff King 41), 5 Callum Howe ©, 7 Tyrese Sinclair (15 Marvin Armstrong 63), 8 Alex Hunt (18 Daniel Batty 73), 10 Ollie Pearce, 17 Lewis Richardson (14 Lenell John-Lewis 77), 21 Cameron John, 23 Joe Felix, 24 Josh Stones (11 Ashley Nathaniel-George 63), 28 Malachi Fagan-Walcott
Subs: 16 Rory Watson, 20 Ricky Aguiar
FC Halifax Town
1 Sam Johnson ©, 5 Adam Senior, 27 Adam Adetoro, 15 Will Smith (4 Festus Arthur 87), 3 Ryan Galvin, 6 Jack Evans, 30 Scott High, 18 Florent Hoti (11 Angelo Cappello 63), 23 Tom Pugh (7 Max Wright 63), 10 Jamie Cooke (26 Owen Bray 87), 9 Luca Thomas (21 Zak Emmerson 71)
Subs: 12 Nathaniel Ford, 20 Jack Jenkins
Referee: Scott Simpson
Goals: Senior 2, Pugh 3, Pearce 15 (pen), Howe 90 + 11
Yellow Cards: Galvin 23, Thomas 45 + 5, Cooke 45 + 10, Batty 82, John 90 + 4
Red Cards: Nathaniel-George 90 + 6
Attendance: 6926 (864 away)
York City 2 FC Halifax Town 2
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