Hot-shot Harris scores again as Shaymen edge past Truro

The Shaymen remain in the play-off places, just, but left it late before seeing off a spirited Truro side fighting for their lives at the other end of the table.

Halifax will have to play better than this for the rest of the season if they're to finish in the top seven, but the resilience and determination they showed here to plug away and eventually find a way to win will be needed too.

And having a 21-goal striker in Harris is handy, as well.

It was a strange opening half, with Town struggling for parts of it to get into a rhythm, but succeeding in other parts at creating some good chances.

They had good spells of possession but also struggled at times to go anywhere with it other than sideways and backwards, but at other times, when they injected some tempo, they produced some encouraging passages of play.

Owen Bray, making his first league start for nearly a month, might have done better within the first 30 seconds after a loose pass by the visitors, with his shot saved by Aidan Stone.

But sloppy play by Town led to a chance for Harry Charsley shortly afterwards, with Town indebted to Shaun Hobson for a superb block.

The pattern had been set.

Kieron Morris had a shot parried by Stone as well, but it was a bit too tentaive from Town, too hesitant, with not enough conviction or purpose.

To be fair to Truro, they weren't playing like a side in the bottom four, weren't sitting behind the ball or looking nervy.

They defended well when needed, but also attacked with more than a hint of danger; Rekeil Pyke should have done better with a shot from eight yards out, while hesitancy on the ball by Hobson saw him lose it to Freddie Issaka, whose shot was deflected by Hobson back to Sam Johnson.

Town's best move of the half came just before it ended, with some one-touch passing creating a chance for Bray, but Connor Riley-Lowe blocked his goalbound shot.

Harris and Josh Hmami also got into good positions towards half-time, but didn't make the most of them.

The Shaymen took full control of the game after the restart, and were the only side offering a threat, but were still lacking in their decision-making and execution in the final third.

By the hour mark, it felt like Town were building momentum; they were producing some better football in and around the Truro box and creating openings more regularly.

Hmami had a shot saved after a delightful pass by Cody Johnson, and then forced Shaun Donnellan into a superb block after a terrible free-kick by Truro gifted Town the ball in a dangerous area.

Substitute Dominic Johnson-Fisher brought a good save by Johnson though for Truro.

It was tight, and increasingly tense.

Cody Johnson did wonderfully with a weaving run and deft pass but Angelo Cappello could only blaze his shot over at an angle.

But Mr Reliable made no mistake as Harris converted from AJ Warburton's low cross from the right with two minutes of normal time remaining.

Halifax: Johnson, Warburton, Hobson, Adetoro, Latty-Fairweather (Mills 80), C Johnson, Hugill, Bray (Cappello 63), Hmami (Jenkins 80), Morris (Kawa 73), Harris. Subs not used: Ford, Lavery.

Scorer: Harris (88)

Shots on target: 9

Shots off target: 8

Corners: 5

Truro: Stone, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Donnellan (Dean 72), Harrison, Riley-Lowe, Jephcott, Kite, Hasani, Issaka (Johnson-Fihser 55), Charsley, Pyke (Harvey 63). Subs not used: Lavercombe, Bell, Law, Stretton.

Shots on target: 4

Shots off target: 3

Corners: 3

Referee: Robert Massey-Ellis

Attendance: 1,224 (65 away)

Town man of the match: Cody Johnson. Always available for the ball, always wanted the ball and more often than not, picked the right pass or made the right decision.