Wealdstone 3 – 1 FC Halifax Town

Three first-half Wealdstone goals were enough to beat Halifax and secure their National League status.

FC Halifax Town named a host of changes ahead of the final game of the regular campaign away to Wealdstone. Dubem Eze and Sean Tarima both made their first start for the Shaymen.

It was a nightmare start for Halifax, with just 5 minutes gone, a corner swung in by Max Kretzschmar met the head of Jack Cook, who nodded it home for a second goal of the season.

The away side nearly found an instant equaliser through Harvey Sutcliffe, whose shot come cross struck the top of the bar.

Halifax haven’t found themself two down often this season, but this was the case today. Mustapha Carayol burnt Sutcliffe for pace before delivering into the box. After a bit of a melee in the box, the ball fell to the back post, where Kallum Cesay was waiting to tap in for his sixth of the season.

Things were set to get worse still for Halifax; Carayol once again worked the ball well on the left wing before cutting inside and unleashing an early strike into the bottom left corner. This was his first for the club after signing as a free agent earlier this year. For just the second time in the league this season, the Shaymen found themselves 3 goals down.

Sutcliffe had a difficult first half an hour, and things got worse for him as he picked up a yellow after chopping down Alex Reid on the halfway line.

The Stones would have had a fourth before half time if it wasn’t for Adam Senior’s goalline clearance following Kretzschmar’s shot.

Following a lacklustre first-half display in which Halifax struggled to gain a foothold in the game, Chris Millington opted for a dramatic response at the interval, making all five substitutions in an effort to revitalise the side for the second period. Luca Thomas, Jamie Cooke, Florent Hoti, Ryan Galvin and Angelo Cappello all entered the pitch.

Just ten minutes after coming on as a sub, Luca Thomas scored a goal of the season contender to reduce the deficit to two. He picked the ball up 60 yards from goal, well into his own half, before ambitiously going for goal. Wealdstone keeper Dante Baptiste tried his best to get back to reach it, but the strike was too sweet. This is Thomas’s third for the club since joining in January.

A loose ball from Joshua Grant fell to Tom Pugh on the edge of the home side’s box; he rolled his man, but ultimately his strike did not contain enough power to trouble Baptiste.

Half-time substitute Florent Hoti had a big impact on the improved second-half performance, and he was inches away from picking up an assist; his whipped free kick was contested for well by Senior, but his header was kept out brilliantly by Baptiste.

The rest of the game fell into somewhat of a lull as Wealdstone knew all they had to do was hold on to secure their National League status for next season. Halifax did look more comfortable with the usual starters on the pitch, but it was still not a performance that Chris Millington and the squad will want to take into the playoff campaign.

FC Halifax Town

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