JON Shaw was at his predatory best in Hertfordshire as Town twice came from behind to secure an FA Trophy second round replay at the Shay tomorrow night.
The frontman took his tally for the season to 15 - in just 23 matches - by being in the right place at the right time after earlier efforts had been blocked.
And his goals earned Town the very least they deserved from what turned out to be an entertaining cup tie on a heavy pitch.
The Shaymen, fielding three players making their debuts, certainly showed plenty of mental strength after going behind.
And the real surprise was that there were not more goals in the game as the two teams looked intent on attacking from the start.
Town had two good efforts inside the opening couple of minutes, Lewis Killeen lifting the ball over home keeper Joe Welch and onto the roof of the net before Shaw picked out Craig Nelthorpe on the left, only for his shot to be saved.
At the other end, Ahmed Deen's corner was only cleared as far as Loui Fazakerley whose shot was tipped over the bar by Adam Legzdins.
Shaw's left foot shot was deflected behind and from the resulting Tom Kearney corner, Adam Quinn got a flick and Shaw volleyed over the top at the far post.
Fazakerley fired wide from the edge of the area, Jack Midson sent one over the top and Greg Pearson was denied by a superb Matt Doughty challenge as he looked to get in.
But Town came back again with a Nathan Joynes shot, after good build up play from Doughty and Nelthorpe, which was saved comfortably by Welch, before Simon Heslop crossed from the right and Nelthorpe sent a right-foot volley over the top.
The Bishops' best chance of the first half came after 28 minutes when Deen's defence splitting pass sent Pearson racing clear.He rounded Legzdins before, inexplicably, firing his shot into the side netting.
That miss appeared to spur on the Shaymen who went close to breaking the deadlock 10 minutes before the break from Shaw's low cross from the right.
Killeen slid in and would have tapped the ball into the net but for the intervention of Tom Champion.
A minute later, Nelthorpe's cross bounced awkwardly in the Bishops area and Welch dived acrobatically to his left to save.
Then after Shaw's initial shot on the turn had been cleared, Heslop picked up and drove towards the edge of the area before firing in a trademark long ranger that flew narrowly wide.
Shaw had an early second half effort turned round the post by the keeper before a lull in the game.
But it sprang back into life just before the hour mark when the home side were awarded a dubious free kick on the right.
Set piece-taker Deen struck the ball well enough but it was still something of a freak that it managed to get through a crowd of players and bounced into the Town net.
The Shaymen responded positively with Tom Sharpe having a header from Nelthorpe's corner deflected over the top.
And they levelled five minutes after falling behind after Doughty had found Heslop on the edge of the area.
The midfielder's deflected shot looped towards the right hand post where the waiting Shaw fired home.
Bishops regained the lead in the 70th minute with a goal of real simplicity, Fazakerley crossing from deep on the right and Roy Essandoh heading home at the far post.
Three minutes later Legzdins saved well fro mPearson and Deen was also denied by the Town keeper as the home side looked to make the game safe.
But Town still had plenty of fight left in them and levelled for the second time with 10 minutes remaining.
Doughty fed the ball in from the left for Campbell whose shot on the turn was saved by the keeper.
Killeen pounced but crashed his shot against the underside of the bar, but the ball bounced straight down and Shaw was there again to force it home from close range.
Town might have gone on to claim a winner in the last few minutes as they continued to push forward.
Nelthorpe exchanged passes with Campbell before crossing for Shaw who was denied by the keeper.
And after Campbell's run down the left, Heslop had the chance to strike from distance, but the ball flashed narrowly wide of the target.
Star ShaymanStrikers do so much of their best work by instinct - they know where to be and when to be there.
And Jon Shaw showed all the best attibutes of a confident frontman as he bagged both equalisers at Woodside Park to earn Town a replay.
Neither strike was from much more than a couple of yards - though the first was the trickier as he had little time to think about it.
But both were equally valuable as they earned Halifax another crack at the Blue Square South outfit.
Matt Doughty also impressed, not only with his defending - his tackle to deny Greg Pearson a shooting chance was impeccably timed - but also going forward and he played a part in the build up to both goals.
Lewis Killeen also posed a real threat to the home side going forward and still harbours hopes that he might be awarded the second Town goal.
He also had a chance snatched away from him by a defender in the first half and on another day would have got on the scoresheet.
Shaw takes the three points on offer in our season-long competition with Doughty taking two and Killeen three.
Match FactsBishop's Stortford: Welch; Jones, Taylor, Edwards, Champion; Stanbrook, Fazakerley, Midson, Deen; Pearson, Essandoh (Mason 71). Subs (not used) : Lunan, Langer, Gaisie, Young.
Booked: Fazakerley
Sent-off: None
Goals: Deen 59, Essandoh 70
Halifax Town: Legzdins; Harban (Bailey 77), Doughty, Sharpe, Quinn; Kearney, Heslop, Killeen, Nelthorpe (Gray 86); Joynes (Campbell 70), Shaw. Subs (not used): Mawson, Atherton.
Booked: None
Sent-off: None
Goals: Shaw 64, 80
Attendance: 731
Referee: I Cooper
Player PointsJon Shaw 27, Simon Heslop 19, Tom Kearney 19, Andy Campbell 13, Lewis Killeen 13, Anthony Griffith 12, Steve Torpey 12, Steve Bushell 10, Jake Wright 10, Daryl Taylor 8, Rob Scott 7, Matt Doughty 6, Cortez Belle 5, Danny Forrest 5, Craig Mawson 3, Nathan Joynes 2, Adam Quinn 2, Darryn Stamp 2, Ryan Toulson 2, Greg Young 2, Peter Atherton 1, Adam Legzdins 1.
You SayThought town looked a threat when attacking not a bad performance. showed good character to come back twice. Lets do it in the replay - LOYAL SHAYMAN
the great chris wilder took us to leicester and now hes taking us to wembley- the man is a genius -hands off newcastle - THE TAXMAN
sir chris as some would have him known is building a team which will be remembered for a long long time sadly for the wrong reasons - TREACLE TOFFEE MAN
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