Ten-man Town withstand onslaught to claim a point
TEN-MAN FC Halifax Town produced a hugely spirited display to earn a point as they drew 1-1 at Notts County.
Either side of Aaron Martin’s first goal for Town and Elisha Sam’s screamer to equalise, Jack Senior was sent off in a pulsating first-half.
The second 45 was less of an ordeal to watch, as Town held firm against the odds, managing to contain County more and blunt their threat.
The idea Halifax would hold on for a draw at half-time seemed fanciful given how difficult it had been to get there, but to a man, The Shaymen were nothing short of magnificent in their efforts to keep County out.
Shortly after Town survived a heart-in-mouth moment, when Jesse Debrah’s short back pass was just about cleared by Sam Johnson, Martin did brilliantly to deftly take a through ball round the onrushing Vitezslav Jaros and keep his cool to finish with a defender rushing back.
It was all about keeping their cool as County did everything but score themselves before and after Town had, with Sam hitting the post with a superb shot across the box.
Halifax’s task got a whole lot harder when Senior was sentoff for a second booking 10 minutes before the break.
The Shaymen eventually succumbed to County’s onslaught when Sam produced a thunderous low shot cutting in on his right foot from the left, beating Johnson at his near post.
The waves of pressure only increased as half-time approached. Halifax desperately needed half-time, and just about got there level.
The Shaymen were more comfortable in the second-half thanks to being more organised and working incredibly hard.
County were patient and probing, completely dominating play, but weren’t getting as much joy or momentum as they had before the break.
County cranked up the pressure again as full-time neared, with Johnson producing a brilliant point blank save before the follow-up shot hit the post.
Johnson then reacted superbly to save a header from close range as full-time suddenly looked a long time away thanks to seven minutes of added time.
Notts County: Jaros, Chicksen, Cameron, Brindley, Richardson, Francis (Brunt 70, Vincent 83), Palmer, Rodrigues, Sam (Mitchell 87), Roberts, Wootton. Subs not used: Rawlinson, Nemane
Scorer: (Sam 44)
Shots on target: 8:
Shots off target: 17
Corners: 6
Halifax: Johnson, Debrah, Bradbury, Maher (Thomas 78), Allen, Summerfield, Woods, Spence, Senior, Waters (McDonagh 80), Martin (Gilmour 46). Subs not used: Swaby-Neavin, Slew
Scorer: Martin (19)
Shots on target: 1:
Shots off target: 1
Corners: 0
Attendance: 5,603 ( 392 )
Referee: Michael Barlow
Town man of the match: Sam Johnson