Excellent victory for Men’s 3rds

Halifax III 2 – 1 Wakefield IV

Scorer : Cullen (2)

Halifax third string completed an excellent run of fixtures up to the Christmas break with a hard-fought win against a Wakefield side only beaten once this season.

With Tom Cullen back after his match winning hat-trick two weeks previous, Halifax started the game with every confidence of upsetting the league standings after throwing away a 2 goal lead in the reverse fixture earlier in the season. Vice-captain Lee Chapman and central defender Nick Walton were absent as they were helping out the 4th team but with Paul Mayes coming in from the 2nd team, the squad was very balanced and experienced.

Wakefield were the more youthful team and started the stronger with early pressure on the Halifax defence. With Mayes joining the established pair of Chris Reynolds and Jamie Maddock, however, Owen waites in the Halifax goal was hardly tested. In the absence of Jason Smith, Steve Rooke was joined by Simon Meredith in central midfield and the pair began to exert some control as the half developed. With Aidan Crowe and the excellent Matthew Ward making inroads down the flanks, chances began to be made for Cullen and his strike-partner Dave Collins and Halifax enjoyed a period of sustained pressure. From a succession of Short Corners, Cullen forced good saves from the keeper and hit the post with a deft flick, but the opening goal still proved elusive.

The Wakefield attack continued to look threatening when they gained possession and it was somewhat against the run of play when one such attack lead the award of a penalty corner and with the powerful shot finding the corner, Halifax found themselves behind at the half time interval.

The half time team talk was simply to continue creating the chances and the goals would eventually come – and so it proved. Midway through the second period, and with pressure mounting, a swift Halifax move caused panic in the Wakefield back line and Cullen made it four goals in two games to put the home side level.

It was now only a matter of time before Halifax secured a well-deserved win. An excellent cross field ball from Nigel Bowers found Reynolds free on the right and his powerful cross gave Cullen the opportunity to secure the points but his effort went just the wrong side of the post. He redeemed himself shortly after, however, when the umpire allowed advantage from a raised ball into the Wakefield D and he expertly placed his reverse-stick shot high into the net. Had it not been for an excellent performance from the Wakefield keeper, the margin of victory would have been higher.

An excellent victory against one of the Division’s stronger sides made it 4 wins out of the last 5 games putting the team in 6th position in the league table.