Hmami goal sees Shaymen get their first win of the season at Boston

It was hard work and hard fought, but The Shaymen reponded superbly from losing their first two matches of the campaign.

It was a win built on graft, grit and wanting it more than their hosts, who were nullified effectively by an excellent Halifax defence.

The manner of defeat at Wealdstone will have stung The Shaymen, but they came out fighting here.

And for the second season running, got their noses in-front early when David Kawa's low cross from the left was flicked in by Hmami at the near post.

It came amid an assured and focused start from the visitors, who imposed themselves on the game, helped by the impressive Kawa up top, who caused problems, provided a focal point and threatened with his pace in-behind.

The differing fortunes of the teams was highlighted 18 minutes in when a flowing move by Town ended with a low cross just too far behind Kawa, before a Boston move stalled when a simple pass went out for a throw.

Halifax were defeding well, with Shaun Hobson and Jevon Mills forming a promising partnership, until the latter was forced off injured.

It never rains, but it pours.

Town turned the ball over more frequently as the first-half progressed, and the momentum slowly tipped in Boston's favour, with The Shaymen forced into more and more defending.

But they did so with desire and determination, none more so than the excellent Hobson, but no player in white was found wanting for effort.

Boston's improvement during the opening half was emphasised with a terrific move just before it ended, culminating in Lenell John-Lewis' shot finally bringing Sam Johnson into action, before Owen Bray fired a shot just wide in first-half added time.

Not long after the interval, only some desperate defending from Boston prevented a second Town goal from a Hmami free-kick into the box.

John-Lewis and Bray were both then guilty of missing clear chances at their respective back posts, with Bray's leading Adam Lakeland to wheel away in disbelief.

With the amount of chances being created, a two-goal lead would have come in handy.

There was no lack of belief from Boston, and they had greater control of the match, but they needed more composure and quality in the final third.

Town just needed to keep the ball a bit longer rather than repeatedly putting themselves on the back foot.

After playing on Saturday with ten men for most of the game, holding onto their slender lead was a test of how much remained in the tank.

Opportunities dried up the longer the game - which decreased starkly in quality - dragged on, which was in Town's favour.

Boston seemed to have run out of ideas towards the end, but that didn't stop Lakeland kicking every ball on the touchline and looking like he wanted to join in.

The win means Town have now joined the party.

Boston: Lovett, Grist, Teale, Fogarty, Cropper (Coyle 31), Sloggett, Hill, Richards, Lankshear, Donnelly (Hiwula 72), John-Lewis (Norkett 81). Subs not used: Jones, Raikhy, Ging, Bradley.

Shots on target: 1

Shots off target: 7

Corners: 6

Halifax: Johnson, Tarima, Hobson, Mills (Adetoro 28), Latty-Fairweather, C Johnson, Hugill, Bray (Turner-Cooke 81), Hmami, Cooke, Kawa (Cappello 69). Subs not used: Ford, Jenkins, Pugh, Emmerson.

Scorer: Hmami (8)

Shots on target: 1

Shots off target: 7

Corners: 6

Referee: Callum Walchester

Attendance: 2,205 (95 away)

Town man of the match: A few contenders, but I'll go for Shaun Hobson, who was outstanding at the heart of defence. A commanding performance.