Goals from Hyde and King secure win at Chesterfield
TOWN MANAGER Pete Wild praised his “excellent” Halifax side after their 2-1 win at playoff rivals Chesterfield.
First-half goals from Jeff King and Jake Hyde were enough to seal an impressive win for Town, Kairo Mitchell scoring for the hosts after the interval.
“I thought first-half we were excellent, we decided to let them have the first pass. I’ve watched teams go up against them, they want to play through you centrally and I didn’t want that so we just let them have the first pass and then we tried to pick them off from there, and it worked a treat first-half,” said Wild. “We thought our game plan worked, we picked them off, scored two and we could have had another one. So we were really pleased with that.
“We knew they’d come after us second-half ans they’d try and load us up, hit the big diagonal into the number two, and we made it nervy, a little mistake, but such is life.
“I always felt if they were going to play longer passes into the box they weren’t going to hurt us, they were going to hurt us if they tried to be a little bit intricate and we cut off those areas so they couldn’t do that.
“We’ve rode the storm second-half but that’s the game plan and we were pleased with how it worked.”
Wild felt his side’s first-half performance was up there among some of the best from his team this season.
“It is but in a different way because when you look at when we went to Notts County away, we tried to press them and stop them playing, whereas tonight was more about sitting in, being compact,” he said. “I watched Bromley play against them on Saturday and they were compact, they couldn’t play through them, they had to try and play round them. I’m really pleased with how the game plan went.”
Chesterfield debutant James Montgomery’s first task of note was to pick the ball out of his net when King’s low left-footed shot went through a crowded box and into the far corner after Martin Woods’ corner hadn’t been properly cleared.
Town were indebted to Sam Johnson a couple of minutes before that after his smart save low to his left from Kairo Mitchell’s shot.
Hyde then glanced in Woods’ cross to double Town’s lead and score his fifth goal in nine games.
Hyde twice could have added another, first when he just couldn’t connect with Billy Chadwick’s cross-shot and then when his effort was well blocked by Gavin Gunning.
A dangerous cross flashed through a crowded Town box without a touch before Laurence Maguire’s effort was cleared off the line by, who else, Clarke.
Town were sitting back more permanently, with Chesterfield in the ascendancy and penning The Shaymen in, attacking more effectively now, which nearly ended in a goal when Tyson hooked the ball over the bar from close range as Halifax struggled to clear it.
After a faultless display at the back, an error by Niall Maher allowed the ball to reach Mitchell, who converted from a few yards out to halve the deficit and rewards the hosts for an improved second-half performance.
Chesterfield were looking a threat every time they approached the Town box as The Shaymen withstood a barrage of quick, fluid attacks.
Curtis Weston fired wide as Town just about survived a scramble in the box, one of several as the clock ticked down, Johnson keeping out a shot by Fraser Kerr deep into six nerveshredding added minutes.
Chesterfield: Montgomery, Carline, Kerr, Gunning, Maguire, Whittle (Tyson 46), Weston, Oyeleke, Whelan (Taylor 55), Mitchell, Mandeville (Clarke 80). Subs not used: Yarney, Dinanga.
Scorer: Mitchell (71)
Shots on target: 7; Shots off target: 10
Corners: 5
Halifax: Johnson, Byrne, Maher, Clarke, King, Summerfield, Woods (Spence 61), Green, Williams, Hyde, Chadwick (Allen 69). Subs not used: Davison-Hale, Senior, Bradbury.
Scorers: King (8), Hyde (30)
Shots on target: 2; Shots off target: 5
Corners: 3
Referee: Thomas Parsons
Town man of the match: Nathan Clarke
ONLINE: Visit our website at www.halifaxcourier.co.uk