WILD CALLS FOR QUICK RESPONSE
FC HALIFAX boss Pete Wild has called on his promotion hopefuls to respond quickly after Femi Ilesanmi’s strike fired Boreham Wood to a surprise victory.
The defeat sees the Shaymen – who saw Danny Williams sent off in the second half – stay in fifth place in the National League table but the gap has tightened up below with Wrexham, Notts County and Chesterfield all winning.
Honest boss Wild admitted his side hadn’t been up to the standards they have set to put themselves in the play-off picture.
“We have collectively agreed that performance was not good enough,” Wild said. “They kept creating chances and it was only a matter of time before they put one away. We go again next week at Dagenham.”
The Shaymen were the stronger of the two sides with three corners in the opening ten minutes.
However none managed to create a clear opening against a resolute Boreham Wood side.
On 20 minutes, a well-worked cross by Jeff King found the head of Jake Hyde to give the Shaymen their first big opportunity of the game. The striker’s header was off target although it would have been ruled out by the offside flag.
Wood had a big chance just before the stroke of half-time when top goalscorer Kabongo Tshimanga wriggled his way past Nathan Clarke and his powerful shot was saved by the strong left arm of keeper Sam Johnson to keep the game scoreless at the break.
Wood thought they had taken the lead on 65 minutes after their in-swinging corner found its way into the back of the net but Johnson was deemed to be fouled in the process.
They had another brilliant chance once again as a long ball over the top found Tshimanga but once again was saved by the big number one.
Two excellent saves by the Halifax keeper had kept them in it.
But the away side didn’t have to wait long for the opener, three minutes in fact, when Ilesanmi’s left-footed shot found the top righthand corner after Jeff King failed to clear. It was no more than Luke Garrard’s side deserved having been on top for the previous 15 minutes.
The task became harder for the Shaymen when Williams was sent off for his second yellow card – his third red of the season – for a shirt pull.
Wood made life difficult for the Shaymen using the extra man to their advantage and prevented Halifax creating any further clear chances.
Delighted Garrard said: “It was a thoroughly professional away performance, we didn’t start as brightly but we created the better of the chances.”