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Photos: Kathy Burke
Late goals from James Briars and Richard Baxter rescued a remarkable draw for James, who finish top of the Spring Term league table, ahead of Halifax on goal difference.
Halifax took the lead through Jake Mundy but Briars hit back for James before half time. Halifax took a 3-1 lead as Denham scored twice, but James dominated thereafter to secure a point.
Although the college football teams have only played three games each this term, finishing top of the pile will undoubtedly provide a useful confidence boost for James ahead of the College Cup in May.
Despite being outplayed for much of the opening half hour, James could have gone ahead after only four minutes.
Richard Baxter’s attempted shot was blocked inside the area and it fell kindly to James Briars, who swivelled and blasted at goal, only for the ball to cannon back off the post to safety for Halifax.
Halifax then had a great chance; Hamish Denham played a one-two with Jake Mundy, but the big striker somehow dragged his shot wide with just Andy Kirkwood to beat.
The pair linked up again moments later as Denham sent the ball over a static James defence for the chasing Mundy, but his attempted lob of Kirkwood tamely dropped into the ‘keeper’s arms.
Halifax’s midfield machine of Pilides and Stevenson, with Mundy dropping deep, was choking James who faced a constant barrage of pressure from all angles. Eventually, Halifax smashed through after 30 minutes.
Frasier Moyle dinked a pass forward to Denham, who intelligently flicked the ball on to Mundy. The striker made no mistake with a slide-rule finish from eight yards to give Halifax a deserved lead.
James woke up after this and started making raids down the left. Baxter and Cooke linked up well allowing the latter to cross for Angel Sahi. But the holding midfielder’s close-range effort was bundled straight at Jonny Sim.
With eight minutes of the half left, James equalised. Josh Spurling played in Briars, who beat the Halifax offside trap, but his shot was blocked by Sim. Fortunately, Ben Cooke picked up the pieces on the right and dinked in a delightful cross which Briars crashed home from close range.
James pushed for the lead but Briars skied his shot under pressure from defenders after a clever reverse pass from Baxter.
James, the side in the ascendancy at this point, probably didn’t want a half time break. Halifax did, and they began the second half with a renewed intensity.
Denham thumped an effort goalwards, the ball ricocheting around the box in pinball fashion. The James defenders reacted slower than Denham, who gobbled up the opportunity by poking the ball in from a couple of yards.
It was almost 3-1 minutes later when Mundy slammed a shot against the post and Mellor cleared the ball off the line for a corner with Kirkwood beaten.
But Kirkwood was called into action seconds later as Connor Meckin tried his luck from 25 yards with a dipping volley, but the ‘keeper stunned everybody by pulling off a world class fingertip save to keep the score at 2-1.
The weight of pressure finally told, however, and Halifax grabbed their third. Mundy played a lofted pass to the onside Denham, with the James defence all at sea. The striker got to the ball just ahead of Kirkwood to nick the ball over the line.
However, the pair collided viciously in the process and Denham had to go off with a wrist injury; James sensed they could take more chances going forward.
Briars was clean through against Sim, but the goalkeeper made himself big to execute a crucial block, before Cooke whipped in a fierce corner which Baxter glanced just wide.
James got it back to 3-2 on 73 minutes. Substitute Simon Kreienbaum chipped the ball forward to the hard-working Briars who scrambled home his second of the match, holding off desperate Halifax tackles.
James were dominating possession as a more conservative Halifax sat deeper and Sim was busier than at any other point in the match.
The decisive equaliser came with only ten minutes remaining, fittingly scored by the captain. Cooke spread the ball wide to Briars who delivered a low, inviting cross to the midfield man and Baxter adjusted well to flick the ball past Sim, sparking joyous celebrations.
After what was a highly entertaining match, Baxter commented: “To come back from 3-1 down with twenty minutes left and look the more likely team to get a winner, you’ve got to be delighted with the performance. We’ve got a few players coming back ready for the college cup, which we should do well in.”
Jack Beadle, Halifax captain, was also looking forward to next term: “I’m a little disappointed we let two late goals in but it was a good chance to look at a few extra players, with a very interesting college cup coming up.”
Vision MOTM: Hamish Denham