King's Lynn 2-0 FC Halifax Town: Back-to-back defeats for below par Shaymen

Josh Barrett's second-half goal was enough for King's Lynn after another out-of-sorts performance from The Shaymen, who missed a first-half penalty, with former Town loanee Gold Omotayo adding a late second.

Both teams would argue they could have been ahead at the break, but only one team deserved to lead after the second-half, with Town regressing badly.

King's Lynn were missing their top scorer Malachi Linton, with former Town striker Omotayo leading their attack.

And he could have put them ahead after some kamikaze defending by Town when Jack Senior twice made a hash of clearing the ball and then Billy Waters gave it away on the edge of his own box, but Omotayo fired wide.

King's Lynn captain Michael Clunan also had an effort off target after Town had again struggled to clear the ball.

Like on Tuesday, Gerry McDonagh was one of the positives for Town.

McDonagh made his first league start for Town in place of Jamie Thomas and was a good presence in attack, holding the ball up well, using his height and strength to keep the King's Lynn defence occupied.

The Shaymen had a good spell midway through the opening half, with Matty Warburton twice going close and Senior seeing a goalbound shot blocked, before Halifax had a goal disallowed for offside.

It was an even contest though, with Barrett squandering a great chance by volleying off target ten yards out, and then Clunan sending a free kick just wide.

Town needed a break, and got one when McDonagh was fouled by onrushing keeper Paul Jones just inside the box.

But Warburton missed his penalty, which kind of summed things up. The Shaymen weren't at their best, needing a bit of a helping hand, but just weren't helping themselves.

Town were better than they had been at Wrexham, seeing more of the ball and playing with more confidence, at least imposing themselves on the contest.

But they were still not at their peak, still lacking that spark and silkiness to their play, not helped by a bobbly pitch, while they looked a little nervy at the back when put under pressure.

Barrett saw a brilliant shot from 25 yards crash off the crossbar a few minutes after half-time.

But he was left with an easy finish after Town were slow to react to Omotayo's flick on, allowing Clunan to pass sideways to Barrett for a tap-in.

It didn't take Pete Wild long after that to bring on Harvey Gilmour and Zak Dearnley, the latter for top-scorer Billy Waters.

But Town needed to regain some composure, rather than matching the hosts in repeatedly knocking it long.

The goal had boosted King's Lynn an extra five or ten per cent, and seemed to suck some of the life out of Halifax.

The Shaymen weren't getting hold of the ball and building, weren't playing with the same assurance and style that has been characteristic of them for so much of the season.

Halifax were disjointed and made hard work of a response, failing to gain the upper hand in the contest or to create any meaningful chances.

Kieran Green and a switch to three at the back was the last throw of the dice with ten minutes remaining, but The Shaymen lost with a whimper.

Omotayo sealed it in added time with a close range finish, with Town left appealing in vain for a push in the build-up.

King's Lynn: Jones, Sundire, Barrows, Coulson, Denton, Scott, Hargreaves, McGavin, Clunan, Barrett (Kurran-Browne 82), Oomotayo. Subs not used: Fernandez, Bowry, Hickman, Charles.

Scorers: Barrett (53), Omotayo (90)

Shots on target: 5

Shots off target: 6

Corners: 5

Halifax: Johnson, Warren, Maher, Bradbury, Senior (Green 79), Spence, Woods, Waters (Dearnley 62), Warburton, Slew (Gilmour 58), McDonagh. Subs not used: Thomas, Debrah.

Shots on target: 1

Shots off target: 8

Corners: 10

Referee: Matthew Dicicco

Attendance: 921

Town man of the match: Gerry McDonagh. Effective in holding the ball up and giving The Shaymen a presence in attack, and won the penalty which Warburton missed.