An unlucky sucker punch of an equaliser robbed Garforth Town of two valuable points in an entertaining and heated league fixture at the Genix Healthcare stadium. Nearly five hundred people enjoyed the emotional affair, though only half would have appreciated the two scrappy headed goals that occurred in the dying minutes which allowed Halifax Town a share of the points that the Miner’s had worked so hard for.
The first ten minutes saw Garforth take the game to their well-supported visitors, though the strong Halifax defence prevented any penetrative break through. Halifax did claim a near miss with a curled lob that went narrowly wide, but the bulk of play was in the home sides favour. Both outfits attempted numerous through balls and lofted passes, many of which were over-hit and skidded away on the slippy surface.
Dom Blair was causing problems on the right with his pace and trickery, and one such jinking run led to Garforth taking the lead. Blair circumnavigated a group of defenders and darted into the penalty area. One delicate pass later, and Mark Piper drilled the bouncing ball back across Jon Kennedy in the Halifax goal to find the corner of the net and give Garforth the numerical advantage.
Halifax almost immediately responded with a curled free kick that missed by a lick of paint, but the next sequence of play would prove to be more memorable. Duncan Williams chased a lofted ball and was challenged by Kennedy, who injured the young utility man. The goalkeeper flew into Duncan, despite the ball being on the ground at time of challenge. Neither man was officially punished.
Half time saw a group of young Brazilian Soccer Schools children give a demonstration of their abilities on the pitch, with a small game. The children, watched by their coaches, gave a fine display that was pleasingly well received by the watching crowd.
The second half began with an amusing piece from one of the linesmen, and on the pitch the balance of play was even. It would be twenty minutes before there was a differentiation between the sides – Garforth began tackling hard, to which the visiting contingent roared their displeasure. Despite this, several nasty challenges were made by the visiting team, notably on Greg Kelly, Duncan Williams and Olly Hotchkiss, which were rather more well received.
Garforth deservedly doubled their advantage when Hotchkiss showed his undoubted ability with a neat turn and curled cross field ball to substitute Andy Rowan. The Town man manoeuvred himself into a position to score, but when Kennedy challenged him, the dependable Greg Kelly was on hand to convert the loose ball with the goal at his mercy.
Halifax, spurred on by their infuriated fans, pressured the Miner’s defence, winning a corner in the 86th minute. Their star man, Junior Brown managed to head the ball towards goal, and the deflected effort beat Phillis to give the visitors hope. Two minutes later, they scored a near identical goal, this time with the well-named Cavell Coo inflicting the damage. This episode saw the blonde member of the Halifax coaching staff leave his technical area to run around like a half witted idiot, gesturing towards the Garforth bench, kicking advertisement hoardings, swearing at home fans and being as moronic as it is conceivably possible for an adult human to be.
Town could not reverse the damage, and will look to bounce back against Woodley Sports away on Saturday. Lessons will be learned from this experience, and Town can take heart from their performance against a capable side and rejuvenate their season as they look to win promotion to the UniBond Premier League.
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