Shaymen crash out of play-offs at first hurdle after 4-0 defeat at Oldham
FC Halifax Town were thrashed 4-0 at Oldham Athletic as they were knocked out of the National League play-offs at the first hurdle again.
One year on from Solihull, The Shaymen suffered the same play-off heartbreak, the same crushing sense of a season's hard work evaporating before their eyes.
Are Town destined to forever only come close to promotion back into the Football League before always falling short?
Town's best chance might have involved keeping things tight and forcing the vociferous home crowd to grow frustrated and spread some nerves.
If that was the plan, it went out of the window after 12 disastrous minutes.
Three visits to Boundary Park this season and three defeats: Town must be sick of the sight of it.
This was not the same side that gave as good as they got for so much of this season, shorn of key triumverate of Will Smith, Jack Evans and Scott High, as well as Max Wright and Jo Cummings, who also may have started if fit.
The team that did start here were simply no match for an Oldham side that swept them away, roared on by a buoyant home crowd.
First, Joe Garner headed in from a corner in the fourth minute, before the Town defence was then all at sea when Adam Senior gave the ball away, with Sam Johnson - one of six changes from Town's last game - tipping over Vimal Voganathan's shot one-on-one.
Everything Oldham did was greeted by a cacophonyt of noise from the home fans, which felt like it was overwhelming the comparitively inexperienced Town side.
Town were wobbling as a free-kick was headed back across goal by Mike Fondop and headed in by Mark Kitching.
It was like Wealdstone on the final day all over again, and Solihull in the play-offs last season all over again.
Fondop then headed in a cross from the right: another ball into the box from wide not dealt with, another Oldham goal.
It was like the FA Cup tie earlier this season all over again; everything Oldham hit was going in.
It was men against boys. Town were drowning, and could do nothing to hold back the tide.
By the 16th minute, Chris Millington had seen enough and made a double change to rejig his side, but it already looked too late.
The Shaymen at least managed to stem the flow of goals, but their first shot didn't arrive until the 33rd minute, a Luca Thomas effort deflected wide.
There were no more before half-time, but Oldham could have got a fourth, with Manny Monthe's shot hitting the post and dribbling across the line, while only a superb block by Adam Adetoro prevented Fondop's shot potentially going in.
The hosts did get their fourth ten minutes into the second-half though as Joe Pritchard lashed the ball past Johnson after Yoganathan's perfectly-weighted pass.
Town's paltry attacking efforts were summed up when Flo Hoti showed some nice footwork to engineer space for a cross on the left, but slipped at the vital moments and the ball dribbled behind for a goal kick.
The 1,893 Halifax fans were nearly given at least something to cheer with 15 minutes to go when Zak Emmerson prodded a shot goalwards from six yards, but Mark Hudson did well to produce his first save of the night.
It had felt like party-time most of the evening for Oldham, certainly from the 12th minute onwards, while for Town, it was more like a wake.
It's another case of so near, yet so far for The Shaymen, who are left to recover, reassess and readjust for another season in the fifth tier.
Oldham: Hudson, Ogle, Raglan, Monthe (Sutton 77), Yoganathan (Conlon 55), Evans (Rossiter 67), Pett, Pritchard (Lundstram 88), Kitching, Garner (Norwood 55), Fondop. Subs not used: Donaghy, Uchegbulam.
Scorers: Garner (4), Kitching (10), Fondop (12), Pritchard (54)
Shots on target: 6
Shots off target: 10
Corners: 7
Halifax: Johnson, Emmanuel, Senior, Galvin, Tarima (Nkrumah 57), Jenkins (Adetoro 16), Pugh (Emmerson 16), Cappello, Cooke, Hoti, Thomas (High 64). Subs not used: Ford, Sutcliffe Eze.
Shots on target: 1
Shots off target: 1
Corners: 2
Attendance: 10,865 (1,893 away)
Referee: Aaron Bannister
Town man of the match: Unfortunately it's almost impossible to pick one, with no Halifax player performing close to their best. I'll give it to Adam Adetoro, who did his defensive duties well after coming on at 3-0.