Rodney keeps cool to decide fiery contest against Sutton
DEVANTE RODNEY’S late penalty saw FC Halifax Town move up to third in the National League as they beat Sutton United 1-0 at The Shay.
It was far from a classic, and Town’s performance was far from perfect, but they dug in, persisted and were eventually rewarded.
The match was a reflection of the pitch, messy and scruffy, with Sutton limited in ambition and threat.
But Halifax battled against a stubborn Sutton side, a poor pitch and a very underwhelming referee to earn three valuable points.
Town’s frustration at the officials for ruling out an early Tobi Sho-Silva goal for offside turned to anger when what looked like a strong claim for a penalty for a trip on Jeff King was not given by Simon Mather, sending Pete Wild into convulsions on the touchline.
The subtext of the officiating was becoming more central than any action, or lack of it, as tempers boiled over when both sets of players came together in a melee.
The backs of the Town team and the supporters were up, with any Sutton indiscretion or perceived time-wasting raising the heckles further the more they went unpunished.
The half ended with Pete Wild being booked. Having watched his team be on the receiving end of some dodgy refereeing, it was salt in the wound he was penalised for daring to question the competency of the man in charge.
The irony that he was shown a yellow card before any of the Sutton players can’t have been lost on the Town boss either.
The Shaymen were lacking composure, shooting wastefully rather than trying to pick a pass, while errors were starting to creep in.
Sutton’s first corner and first shot on target, plus Halifax’s lack of penetration, caused a few jitters inside The Shay as the game started to get stretched.
It had become next-goal-wins - it was from the start on reflection - and substitute Jamie Allen spurned a glorious chance when he was played into acres of space but he fired straight at keeper Nikola Tzanev.
But Town were rewarded for a good spell of pressure when Mather did give them a penalty for a high kick on Nathan Clarke at a corner.
Proceedings descended into farce as Sutton players crowded round Rodney before he took the kick, trying to put him off. They should have known it wouldn’t work as he buried the spot-kick.
Halifax: Johnson, Maher, Clarke, Brown, J King, Cooper, Staunton (Nolan 90), Williams, Redshaw (C King 74), Rodney, Sho-Silva (Allen 66). Subs not used: Appleyard, BinnomWilliams.
Scorer: Rodney (88)
Shots on target: 5; Shots off target: 7; Corners: 5
Sutton: Tzanev, Randall (Ajiboye 73), Goodliffe, Barden, Wyatt, Kealy (Olaofe 60), Milsom, Bolarinwa, Rowe, Reid, Bugiel (Dundas 81).
Subs not used: Pearce, Brown.
Shots on target: 2; Shots off target: 3; Corners: 1
Attendance: 1,637
Referee: Simon Mather
Town man of the match: Nathan Clarke