FC Halifax Town 1-0 Chesterfield

After an encouraging first-half, The Shaymen stepped it up after the interval and banished their Boxing Day blues with a superb display.

One goal was scant reward for a performance full of endeavour, effort and spirit, everything that had been missing 48 hours earlier at Stockport.

This was much more like it.

If Stockport was the low point of the season, this could be the turning point.

Something had to change after Boxing Day, and it was in formation as well as personnel, with Nathan Clarke, Danny Williams, Jeff King and Redshaw all starting in a 3-5-2 system.

Bring on the revolution.

Pete Wild had gone back to the drawing board and devised a new approach, and the change in system did offer its advantages, bolstering a leaky defence with an extra centre-back, and encouraging more players to get up in support of Jack Redshaw in attack, whose lack of height meant he could not be supplied with long balls from the back.

There were promising early signs, as Cameron King got on the ball in good areas, and Jamie Allen tried to get on the shoulders of the Chesterfield defenders, with Halifax trying to build attacks through the phases rather than force them from back-to-front.

But Town needed to be braver on the ball, and trust in the abilities of King and Redshaw, rather than going sideways and back.

Redshaw was denied by a magnificent last-ditch block by Haydn Hollis, with Halifax looking likelier to create chances in the opening 20 minutes.

Chesterfield had offered next to nothing, but went close to taking the lead against the run of play when former Shay loanee Mike Fondop-Talom headed a left-wing cross inches wide.Fondop quickly became the pantomime villain as he was booked for an off-the-ball altercation with Jeff King.

He then nicked the ball off Matty Brown before firing wastefully into the side-netting, after which he took his frustration out by whacking the ball against an advertising hoarding, with Town fans baying for a second yellow.

All of which was more interesting than the game itself, which offered little other than two sides struggling for form and confidence.

Wing-backs Williams and Jeff King rarely ventured into the final third, so Town’s attacks at times lacked the width needed to get in-behind The Spireites’ back line.   
Redshaw brought the game to life with a terrific run and shot that flew narrowly over a few minutes before the interval, which was the closest Town came in the first-half.

It hadn’t been great, but it was better than Stockport, the first step on the road to recovery.

Town had been the better side, while Chesterfield looked there for the taking if Halifax could produce something, with Redshaw looking the most obvious source of inspiration through his good movement and close control.

Given the lack of form of both these sides, the first goal was always bound to be pivotal, and Town started to crank up the pressure after the restart, with Niall Maher and Redshaw going for goal after some nice build-up play.

The Shaymen were the only team who looked interested in scoring, offering far more going forward than Chesterfield.

It continued to be nearly but not quite for Halifax, as Jeff King found Allen to the right of the box, but his low shot from a tight angle was saved by Shwan Jalal.

Town were closer still when Redshaw’s excellent dinked cross found Staunton completely unmarked near the penalty spot, but he headed over.
The pressure finally told though when Redshaw was brought down in the box, and he sent Jalal the wrong way from the penalty spot.

The relief was as evident in the celebrations of the Halifax fans as it was in Pete Wild’s reaction, as the Town boss released all his pent-up emotions, punching the air and leaping off the ground.

Redshaw then saw a shot beaten away by Jalal before substitute Tom Denton’s header was held low by Sam Johnson.

Redshaw should have sealed it but his low shot from an angle was kept out by Jalal.

Chesterfield were all over the place at the back as Allen and Staunton were both denied by Jalal, who was keeping the visitors in the game single-handedly.

But he needn’t have bothered, as it had long since been a lost cause for them.


Halifax: Johnson, Maher, Clarke, Brown, Staunton, Cooper, Allen (Sho-Silva 90), J King, C King (McAlinden 83), Williams, Redshaw. Subs not used: Appleyard, Binnom-Williams, McCoulsky.


Scorer: Redshaw (66)

Shots on target: 9
Shots off target: 12

Corners: 8


Chesterfield: Jalal, Yarney (Smith 60), Evans, Hollis, Buchanan, Weston, Sheridan, McKay, Nepomuceno (Mandeville 68), Boden, Fondop (Denton 68). Subs not used: Sharman, Wakefield.
Shots on target: 2
Shots off target: 7

Corners: 1


Attendance: 2,420

Referee: Garreth Rhodes

Town man of the match: Jack Redshaw