Mens 1sts start 2014 with a win!!!
Halifax Mens 1st team travelled to Sheffield to start their 2nd half of the season. The team were thankfull for a master class in scoring from skipper Matthew Graham which rescued the team in the last 15 minutes of the game as they ran out 5-3 winners
The team started well but poor finishing and some bad luck allowed Sheffield to stay in the game for the 1st 20 minutes.
Frustration then showed as Matthew Bairstow, Michael Jones and Jake Bamforth all seemed to be trying too hard and the team wanted to get the ball into scoring opportunities too quickly and this gave the Sheffield defence time to cut out long, hopeful passes.
Their frustration was compounded with some sloppy defence and Sheffield scored 2 goals with their only 2 shots in the 1st half.
The team talk at half time was to stay composed and be patient and stretch the opposition before looking at creating chances.
This proved successful as chances were being created and Gabe Coleman slapped the ball home after the Sheffield keeper had made a good save from a Tom Love shot.
It looked like it was not going to be the teams day as Sheffield scored an excellent goal on the counter with only their 3rd serious attacking move.(3-1).
It was time for the Graham show as he reduced the arrears to 3-2 finishing off a good move down the right and a well timed pass from Jones.
This followed quickly with 2 thundering strikes from penatly corners to give the team a 4-3 lead and knocked the stuffing out of Sheffield.
Josh Foreman, Josh Barron and Henry Shelton took control in defence for Halifax with Josh Sutcliffe and Peter Balmforth keeping possession well in midfield.
Jones put the game to bed in the closing minutes with a tremendous strike for a 5-3 win and a hard earned 3 points which keeps the team flying high at the top of the league.
They have no league game next Saturday but will be [playing a friendly to keep the momentum going]