Harriers put Halifax to the sword in the Emirates FA Cup…
By Matty Paddock - 05/12/2021
Posted 4 years ago
HARRIERS soared into the Emirates FA Cup Third Round with a comfortable 2-0 win over FC Halifax Town at Aggborough.
Goals from Amari Morgan-Smith and Ashley Hemmings did the damage as Russ Penn’s men controlled the game from start to finish.
It began with utter bedlam from the start, too, barely three minutes on the clock when Morgan-Smith and Hemmings combined out wide, the move ending with a low ball from the latter to the former who stuck out a boot to divert it with perfect accuracy into the net via the post. Aggborough was rocking.
Those energy levels stayed high as the game was played at a frantic pace early on with an atmosphere to match. With 17 gone the noise went up a notch further. Caleb Richards kept an attack alive with a header down into the mix that Hemmings took away from goal before spinning back around and slamming it into the top of the net. 2-0!
Visiting keeper Thompson then had to be on his toes to snuff out the Sterling who was making a menace of himself. Either side of the half-hour he drove in a corner that needed tipping wide and an attempted lob that required a safety-first nudge around the post.
Even Sam Austin tried to get in on the act a few minutes before the break, driving and aiming towards the bottom corner where the Shaymen custodian was waiting to block it away.
Harriers will have expected a significant rally from the National League visitors after the break, but managed to soak up some initial pressure on their goal to control the remainder of the game.
The second period was indeed far quieter than the first in terms of real chances, but there were a couple of openings for a third goal. Arguably the best of these came on 69 minutes through Elliot Bonds. He helped Harriers win the ball back before turning sharply and firing low, denied only by the outside of the post.
With nine left of normal time, Sterling tried again and shot low and hard – Thompson again with good reflexes to get down and turn the ball away.
Halifax weren’t able to force Simpson into a single save of note on the day, but skipper Maher did step up and take aim with six left, the Harriers gloveman able to watch it wide.
Get full team line-ups and key match facts at The Match Centre.
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