Town drown sorrows of defeat by downing Shots
FC Halifax Town took a significant step towards safety with a 2-0 win over Aldershot at The Shay on Tuesday evening.
Second-half goals from Harvey Gilmour and substitute Milli Alli eventually saw off Aldershot and give The Shaymen some much-needed breathing space between them and the bottom four.
It was an excellent response from the Shaymen, who had lost 2-0 to Chesterfield on Saturday. A goal in each half from Ollie Banks and substitute Armando Dobra condemned Halifax to their first defeat in six as the hosts claimed the points.
But Town bounced back in midweek, registering only their second home win of 2023, and it was a timely shotin-the-arm before Saturday's FA Trophy semi-final.
Town had all the possession they could hope for in the first half but not working the ball well enough or quickly enough to create anything. All they had to show for a superior first quarter of the game was a wayward shot by Rob Harker after ten minutes.
Angelo Capello and Tylor Golden were getting into some good positions high up on the flanks, but weren't picked out often enough or quickly enough when they were.
Half-an-hour in, Halifax
had also won a corner and seen a Luke Summerfield shot go high and wide.
Summerfield was hit and miss in his attempts to get Town going, misplacing a pass here after finding a man there.
Alongside him, Gilmour - one of three changes along with Jamies Stott and Cooke - bore the brunt of some frustration from the terraces when he passed instead of shooting inside the box and passing backwards when he had space to explore in-front of him.
Town needed more from Cooke and Matty Warburton too, to link play, to find space and to create chances.
Former Halifax loanee Tahvon Campbell showed how it should be done for Aldershot when his fierce shot from outside the box was tipped behind by Sam Johnson.
The Shots hadn't kept a clean sheet for nine games, but by half-time, must certainly have been sensing one was on the way after another goalless first-half at The Shay.
After less than 15 minutes of a non-descript second-half in which Town had still failed to test Aldershot keeper Luca Ashby-Hammond, Alli replaced Warburton.
But from Town’s first shot on target, Gilmour gave them a precious lead with a 20-yard strike into the bottom right of the net.
Substitute Jake Hutchinson nodded wide from Jai Rowe's curled cross, with nerves beginning to jangle at the slenderness of Halifax's lead.
Summerfield should have sealed it one on one late on but Ashby-Hammond reacted very well to keep out his shot.
Johnson shanked a goal kick horribly as the clock struck 90 leading to Aldershot bearing down on goal, but after the visitors won a free-kick, it was sent harmlessly wide.
After that obligatory heart-in-mouth moment, the win was secured deep in added time when Alli was able to roll the ball into an empty net after Ashby-Hammond was caught upfield at a corner.