FC Halifax Town 0-2 Yeovil

FC Halifax Town were beaten for only the second time this season as they lost 2-0 at home to Yeovil.
FC Halifax TownFC Halifax Town
FC Halifax Town

Gold Omotayo struck twice to consign The Shaymen to their first home defeat of the season, with Town failing to score for only the second game this term too.

Halifax have been fantastic so far this season, and this result and performance should take nothing away from what has been such a hugely encouraging start to the campaign.

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But there is no getting away from the fact that Town were out-of-sorts on a frustrating afternoon, and lacking in the intensity and composure that has graced the team under Pete Wild.

Shortly after Jamie Allen's cross was nearly converted by Tobi Sho-Silva, Yeovil struck gold when Omotayo rifled the ball high into the net from a tight angle moments after Myles Hipplotye had seen his shot deflected onto the post.

That was the first time Town had fallen behind at The Shay this season, and it could have been more when Courtney Duffus cut in on his right foot and unleashed a stinging shot that Sam Johnson acrobatically tipped over.

There was an equally fine stop when Liam O'Brien tipped Liam Nolan's shot over after 20 minutes, with Josh Staunton heading the resulting corner narrowly off target.

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Omotayo went close again with a header from Remeao Hutton's right-wing cross, but again Johnson did well to keep it out.

Staunton then couldn't react quickly enough to convert Cameron King's inviting cross.

Johnson was keeping Yeovil out single-handedly though, with another excellent save from Carl Dickinson's free-kick

Yeovil should have had the second goal their superiority merited but Matt Worthington headed a superb cross by the lively Duffus straight at Johnson from close range.

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Right wing-back Hutton was a Jacob Hanson-esque marauding presence down that flank for the away side, a constant option, with Duffus and Omotayo a real threat up-front, tussling for possession and making clever runs.

Halifax were disjointed, stuttering in possession and making little impression as an attacking force.

The main source of frustration for the home supporters was the repeated fouls and gamesmanship committed by the visitors and the referee's inability to punish them.

Yeovil were what Halifax have been when at their best this season - fluid, incisive and full of running, moving the ball quickly and intelligently.

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Town were off-the-pace by comparison, not matching the very high standards they have set in the opening weeks of the campaign.

Yeovil's back-three had kept Sho-Silva, usually the focal point for Town attacks, subdued, while the visitors' midfield was full of energy and bite.

Pete Wild's thoughts on the first-half were clear with the half-time change of Liam McAlinden, who had been replaced by Jeff King in Town's only change, for Jack Earing.

Sho-Silva, manhandled all afternoon in the usual fashion, hit the post with a low shot from 20 yards seconds after the restart, with Town again going close just before the hour mark when Jeff King struck the bar from Michael Duckworth's low cross.

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It was better from Town, but there was still no sustained spell of pressure, with Yeovil not the attacking threat of the first-half, and trying to slow play down at every opportunity.

The Town supporters' anger over repeated fouls on Sho-Silva going unpunished then boiled over when Wild was booked for his protestations on the subject.

Referee Joe Hull, who officiated Town's 0-0 draw at Wrexham last season in which Nathan Clarke has a goal controversially not given, then took centre stage even more as cries of "cheat cheat cheat" rang out around the Shay.

Town claimed Sam Johnson was fouled when he tried to claim a high ball, but play was allowed to continue and Otomayo tucked in the loose ball for his second of the day.

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From that, there was no way back for Town. Nolan's flick header from a free-kick would have made things interesting with five minutes to go, but O'Brien reacted well to tip it away.

Halifax: Johnson, Duckworth, Clarke, Staunton, Binnom-Williams, Earing (McAlinden 46), Nolan, Allen, J King (Macdonald 89), C King (Williams 74), Sho-Silva. Subs not used: Appleyard, Hanson.

Shots on target: 4

Shots off target: 8

Corners: 5

Yeovil: O'Brien, Dickinson, Wilkinson, Skendi, Lee (Tilley 48), Hutton (Alcock 62), Bradbury, Worthington, Omotayo, Hippolyte, Duffus (McCoy 82). Subs not used: Rogers, Whelan.

Scorer: Omotayo (4, 69)

Shots on target: 7

Shots off target: 10

Corners: 8

Attendance: 2,341 (153 away)

Referee: Joe Hull

Town man of the match: Sam Johnson