Michael breaks his duck to give Shaymen precious three points
IT WASN’T cares?.
An ugly win is still a win, and not many will have felt as satisfying to Pete Wild than this one, as Michael Duckworth’s first goal for the club sealed a 1-0 victory at Sutton.
“What you saw is a resilient display, lads putting their bodies on the line, defending our own box really well,” said Wild.
“They put us under a lot of
pretty, but who
It was a messy, scrappy contest, but that suited Halifax, who gave little away
pressure at times. We had to play a different way.
“We played, I thought, winning football.
“You can’t get hold of it on pitches like this.
“When you do, they come after you, we made that mistake on Saturday.
“So we just tried to play in the spaces and play in-behind them more, knowing that if we keep putting it back on them, we’ll get a chance.
“It was a great ball from Josh Macdonald and Ducky’s where he should be at the far post.”
The closest either side came to scoring in an uninspiring first-half was when Sam Johnson’s attempted clearance hit a player close-by and rebounded straight past him, but didn’t have the pace to trundle over the line.
Johnson reacted well to tip over a lofted free-kick shortly before half-time, with Town struggling to impose themselves on the contest.
But The Shaymen were much better after the interval, partly down to substitute Jack Earings’s close control and finesse, and were rewarded for a brighter display when Macdonald’s inviting right-wing cross was buried at the far post by the onrushing Duckworth, in at leftback for the suspended Jerome Binnom-Williams.
The goal had buoyed the visitors, and flattened the home side, who started to take their frustrations out on the referee.
It was a messy, scrappy contest, but that suited Halifax, who worked hard and gave little away as the second-half went on.
A free-kick sent a yard or two wide by Rob Milsom from 25 yards was the best Sutton could muster.
Johnson was forced into an excellent save from Omar Bugiel’s shot on the turn with five minutes remaining.
The Shaymen then somehow survived when a Sutton corner was headed against the bar by Bugiel and two follow-up efforts were both cleared off the line.
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