Men’s 3rds earn deserved point

Mirfield 1 v Halifax III 1

Collins

After losing their first League game of the season away at Harrogate last week, Halifax 3rds travelled to Mirfield for what promised to be a hard-fought encounter against a side also promoted last season.

In an attempt to provide more support to the front line, Halifax started with Lee Chapman providing additional support to the attacking pair of Phil Green and Dave Collins, with Cameron Hellowell and Matthew Ward moving into midfield to add more pace. The move worked well and after making a bright start to the game, Collins was on target to open his account for the season with a well-taken goal.

As Mirfield started to take a strangle-hold on possession, Chapman was sacrificed to allow Neil Penny-Ward and Rob Keene to add strength to the defence and with the central midfield paring of Steve Rooke and Simon Meredith working hard, the lead was maintained until well into the second half. After excellent defencive work form Graham Rodgers and Nick Walton, and James Smith pulling off some fine saves, it was disappointing that Mirfield were able to force an equaliser deep into the second period although a draw was probably a fair reflection of the game.

Overall, a well-deserved first point of the campaign with a much-improved team performance.