By Roger Baxter
Halifax won out over Goodricke after working hard to break the less-fancied side down. The 2-0 victory, although deserved, was perhaps a little less of a formality than the opening phases of the game indicated. Hamish Denham provided both goals for Halifax, but on the basis of this performance they will have to raise their game a couple of notches to threaten either James or Alcuin.
Goodricke’s goalkeeper Noel Rogers was forced into activity earlier than he would have liked, having to deal with Mark Lund, who miscued following an intrusion into the box, and then Denham. A long ball upfield came to the edge of the Goodricke box; Rogers was able to claw it away, but only to the feet of the Halifax striker, who duly converted a simple finish to open the scoring early in the match.
The watching crowd, numerous despite the biting crosswind, were of the mind that a rout could perhaps be on the cards, but for the rest of the first half, although they had the better of the play, Halifax were unable to break down their stubborn opponents. Indeed, it was Goodricke who had the best chance of the rest of the opening half-hour, when a rare foray into the Halifax half saw a through ball fall to Matt Burke, whose subsequent shot was acrobatically dealt with by Dean Hanson. Goodricke’s other attempt, a speculative dink from Luke Hurst with the outside of his right, flashed wide just before the whistle, but in real terms Halifax were well on top.
More of the same was to ensue in the second period. After Burke’s ambitious lob, which although hitting the bar was covered all the way by Hanson, it was Halifax’s turn to attack. They doubled their lead courtesy of a mazy run from Sam Dempster, who jinked past two defenders before squaring the ball to Denham, who again showed no mistake. Afterwards, with the wind picking up and the result beyond doubt, the two sides slowed their pace, and the game ended at a just 2-0 to Halifax. Goodricke retired to lick their wounds, while James 1sts next week is the biggest of games for Halifax.