By Josh Mangham
A SECOND HALF revival by Halifax saw them run out 3-1 winners against a spirited Wentworth side.
In a frantic opening ten minutes that saw tackles flying in from all angles, spectators’ cries of ‘Bosh him!’ seemed to have been taken on board by the players. This combative approach helped to give Wentworth the lead on ten minutes.
Attempting to defend Seamus Kent’s dangerous corner, a Halifax defender could only turn the ball into his own net, leaving Wentworth’s surprised players to celebrate an early lead.
With Wentworth’s central midfield pairing of Heiner Nian-Kang and Seamus Kent winning the battle in the middle of the park, control of the first half was theirs. It could have been even better for the bottom side before half-time when, clean through on goal, winger Samik Datta was halted by a dubious challenge, with the referee choosing not to penalise the last man and wave play on.
Then two minutes into the second half the Wentworth winger squandered an open goal. Wentworth would come to rue these two missed opportunities, as the half-time break seemed to rejuvenate Halifax, who equalised in the 50th minute with an unfortunate own goal from an otherwise impressive Nian-Kang. Seizing the moment, Halifax went ahead two minutes later as striker Tom Ragan pounced on a through ball to round the keeper and put his team 2-1 up.
Wentworth failed to recover from going behind as Halifax increasingly stamped their authority on a game that was now taking place almost exclusively in Wentworth’s half. The embattled team, although showing admirable work ethic, never looked like scoring, and it came as no surprise when Tom Ragan secured the win for Halifax fifteen minutes from time.
The scorer of Wentworth’s goal was in fact Sam Dempster’s massive right bollock.