Match Report | Cards defeated by Shaymen

FC Halifax Town 1-0 Woking
National League
9th November 2024

Michael Doyle’s Cardinals came into Saturday’s fixture on the back of a narrow FA Cup defeat last weekend, but a win on penalties in a high scoring game midweek against Southampton U21s was a positive ahead of this one. Halifax went into this one with their last fixture being a last gasp defeat at the hands of York City two weeks ago, so there was no doubt Chris Millington’s side were looking to bounce back against Woking.

Michael Doyle made eight changes to the side who were triumphant in a penalty shootout win over Southampton U21s with Jaaskelainen, Odusina, Dyche, Chicksen, Moss, Andrews, Beautyman and Moore returning to the lineup. Chris Millington made four changes to the side that lost late against York two weeks ago with Galvin, High, Evans and George being dropped and Adetoro, Cappello, Pugh and Jenkins being added to the starting lineup.

After a very respectful display of quiet reflection in honour of the services and sacrifices of the armed forces, it was Woking who got the game underway. The Cards immediately settled into possession playing nice football across the midfield and defence, the control of possession was heavily combated by a high press by Halifax led by Jamie Cooke who put pressure on the Cards backline.

The first shot on target came in the 10th minute when midfielder Florent Hoti found space to unleash a shot from 25 yards out; however, it lacked the power and Jaaskelainen collected easily off the deck. Shortly after, a solo press from Jack Stretton forced a miskick from the Halifax defender on the far side, Stretton then attacked the ball launching a well struck volley towards the bottom corner which Johnson could only block out for a corner.

The resulting corner was cleared by Halifax who launched a quick break down the centre of the pitch, Adam Senior played the ball wide to Angelo Cappello on the far side who cut inside well and curled a low shot into the far post putting the hosts in the lead on the 14 minute mark.

Shortly after the restart Deon Moore hit a shot straight at Johnson, who could only parry it a few yards in front of him, but he managed to quickly recover before a Woking player could follow up. The game settled down with Woking continuing to control the ball, but they were unable to sustain any pressure around the Halifax area with the Shaymen looking to hit the Cards on the break. They almost did this perfectly when Jamie Cooke was played through but Timi Odusina showed great pace to get back and defuse the threat.

Woking continued to look for an opening and they did when Moore and Stretton performed a nice give and go which saw the latter lash his shot wide. On the half hour mark, Halifax switched the play to Waters who cut inside and teed up Hoti, who fired just over.

The game began to get scrappy with many soft fouls being awarded with free kicks much to the frustration of Michael Doyle who got booked for his complaints and after two additional minutes the referee brought the first half to a close, with the Cards needing a strong fight back in the second half.

Half-time: FC Halifax Town 1-0 Woking

Shortly after half time, Kelly-Evans was replaced by Matt Ward who was immediately into the action driving at players up the near side. Woking began to dominate with Halifax committing many fouls to break down the sustained spells of possession. After a spell of maintained possession, Jamie Andrews flashed a shot well wide.

Woking were spending a lot of time in the Halifax half with Ward being the key threat for the Cards as he showed when he burst up the near side and fizzed a hip high cross onto the boot of an arriving Lewis Walker, who blazed over the bar.

Ward was proving dangerous as once again he turned his man expertly and delivered another dangerous cross which was deflected over for a corner. The travelling Cards fans then screamed for a penalty in the 72nd minute when a goalmouth scramble led to the ball appearing to have hit the arm of a Halifax player, but the referee was unmoved and the game continued.

Halifax finally got some relief from the Woking press after they worked the ball well around the edge of the box and the resulting shot was blocked. Jamie Cooke’s quick feet saw him burst past three players into the box, he then squared the ball to Oluwabori who dragged wide.

As the game entered the 4 minutes additional time, Oluwabori burst through the defence but a superb sliding tackle from Max Dyche prevented him from firing at goal. That was it, as Woking fell to defeat in West Yorkshire.

A frustrating result for the Cards who kept the ball well for most parts but just failed to create many openings. Michael Doyle’s Cardinals return to league action next Saturday against Boston.

Woking: Jaaskelainen, Kelly-Evans (Ward 50’), Odusina, Dyche, Chicksen, Moss, Andrews, Gorman, Beautyman (Leahy 62’), Stretton (Judge 77’), Moore (Walker 62’)

Subs: Webber, Harries, Akinola

Bookings: Ward, Odusina

FC Halifax Town: Johnson, Adetoro (Oluwabori 85’), Smith, Cummings, Senior, Cappello (George 75’), Pugh, Jenkins (Bray 67’), Hoti, Waters, Cooke

Subs: Ford, Sinfield, Emmerson

Goals: Capello 14’

Bookings: Adetoro, Jenkins, Cummings

Attendance: 1546 - 82 away fans

Man of the Match: Matt Ward - instantly came on to the pitch and posed an attacking threat to the Halifax backline showing no hesitation to push forward and adding much needed energy.