Sorry Shaymen beaten at home by Southend after disjointed display

Just when you think The Shaymen are building some momentum and starting to flex their promotion muscles, a performance like this comes along.

A goal in each half from the impressive Aribim Pepple and Adam Crowther consigned Town to defeat.

After an upturn in performances and results of late, this was a big step backwards and sucked the life out of the positivity that had started to be built..

Town trailed at the break but should have led before Southend scored, with a good turn and shot by Adan George kept out by Colin Andeng-Ndi.

Josh Walker might have done better than a tame shot after outmuscling Jo Cummings and side-stepping Sam Johnson in the Halifax box.

But the turning point of the match came when Billy Waters squandered a huge chance, failing to convert Jamie Cooke's cross after a lovely pass by Adan George down the right flank.

Both teams were better without the ball than with it, working very hard but making very hard work of any serious or sustained pressure on the opposition.

Both were either turning over possession far too quickly or playing it around in their own half without hurting the other.

Adan George, a surprise choice perhaps at right wing-back, had done alright, but there were too many heavy touches and too much hesitancy from The Shaymen, and not enough dynamism or devilment.

Not that Southend were drastically different, also failing to rise much above being averagely mediocre in possession.

In a game of few chances, Waters' miss was a glaring one, and it looked even worse when Town fell behind.

After Florent Hoti, who looked sluggish all afternoon, lost the ball near halfway, like Adam Alimi-Adetoro had on Wednesday prior to Forest Green's goal, Southend broke foward and Pepple jinked into the box before his shot found the far corner from the right of the area.

Another avoidable goal and another deficit for Town to try and retrieve.

It should have got worse for the hosts but Pepple missed an equally clear opportunity to Waters' chance when he failed to convert a low cross from the right from five yards out.

Pepple went close again a couple of minutes after half-time, with Town still toiling and having far too much of the ball far too far away from the Southend goal.

Pepple hit the target with his next effort ten minutes later, from George Moncur's low cross, but Sam Johnson dived low to his right to tip it behind.

Halifax had changed to a back four, but they still looked as far off finding an equaliser. In fact the more they tried, the worse they got.

And after Pepple had another effort kept out by Johnson, Southend got what had seemed an inevitable second goal when Crowther met a corner with an excellent looping header across goal.

Halifax still had half an hour to mount a fightback, but would have needed the rest of the weekend.

Since George's early shot and Waters' big miss, they'd created nothing and didn't look like doing so either.

Southend had got better as the game went on, but Town had regressed.

They didn't stop trying, but what they produced fell woefully short, trudging towards full-time disjointed and dispirited.

Halifax: Johnson, Senior, Cummings (Adetoro 67), Smith (Emmerson 82), George, Jenkins (Bray 67), Evans, Cappello, Hoti (Oluwabori 59), Cooke, Waters. Subs not used: Ford, Sinfield, Pugh.

Shots on target: 3

Shots off target: 6

Corners: 5

Southend: Andeng-Ndi, Scott-Morriss, Crowther, Taylor, Ralph, Morton, Moncur (Husin 67), Coker (Appiah-Forson 80), Bridge (Wind 90), Walker (Bonne 67), Pepple (Waldron 67). Subs not used: Peacock, Wood.

Scorers: Pepple (35), Crowther (61)

Shots on target: 4

Shots off target: 8

Corners: 4

Attendance: 1,766 (348)

Referee: Aaron Jackson

Town man of the match: Not many contenders, it has to be said. I'll pick Sam Johnson for some decent saves.