Halifax keep top-three bid on track with narrow victory over Eastleigh
FIRST-HALF GOALS from Kian Spence and Matty Warburton were enough to earn FC Halifax Town another crucial win in the race for the top three as they beat Eastleigh 2-1 yesterday.
Harry Pritchard’s goal for the hosts shortly after half-time made it a nervy second-half.
With Solihull beating Bromley, a win was a must here for a topthree place to remain in Halifax’s hands. It wasn’t pretty, but The Shaymen got what they came for.
The best bit of quality in the first-half saw a one-two between Jack Senior and Billy Waters, from which Senior’s right-foot shot was deflected over for a corner. From that, Spence was given too much time on the edge of the box to pick his spot with a superb strike.
The hosts were then caught in possession on the edge of their own box by Waters, and Warburton kept his cool to finish low past the keeper from 10 yards. Sam Johnson was the sole survivor from Town’s only previous win here back in 2019, but he’d had no shots to save until Pritchard converted a low cross from the right by Smart not long after half-time to get the hosts right back in it.
There was more bite and aggression from Eastleigh after the interval, while the visitors weren’t as smooth or assured on the ball.
The hosts were unable to build much pressure or momentum though, with Town working hard off the ball to keep the hosts at arm’s length, but not creating much themselves.
Eastleigh went close in the 88th minute when substitute Ronan Silva curled a shot inches wide, but the hosts couldn’t produce enough quality when it mattered to score again.