College Football: Halifax 4-4 Alcuin

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Photos: Oliver Todd

In a scrappy match, neither side was able to gain a large enough advantage to put the game to bed.

In the dazzling sunshine of the late morning, Halifax struck twice before Alcuin were really awake. Both goals came from throw ins from the right touchline. The scoring was opened when Hamish Denham volleyed past Damien Richard from close range. Moments later, Jack Beadle pounced on a loose ball partially cleared to the edge of the box, his effort eluding Richard with the help of a Tom Ragan deflection to make it two.

Alcuin however, got their act together and struck back in beautiful fashion, Alex Brown cutting inside and firing the ball over Jonny Sim into the top left corner. Barely sixty seconds later, it was 2-2; Leonidas Kanonis finishing tidily to Sim’s left, after receiving the ball on the edge of the box. The score remained 2-2 at the break despite opportunities for both sides.

First blood in the second half went to Alcuin. Jacob Scholz played a ball over the top to Brown whose effort was cruelly deflected into the net. Yet Halifax soon had a chance to even things up, the referee awarding a controversial penalty after a shirt-pulling tussle between Luca Nazzicone and Dan Jones. Denham’s penalty however was brilliantly saved by Richard diving low to his left and pushing the ball past the post.

Spurred on by this save, Alcuin went on to extend their lead Greg Fearn scoring a fluke free kick from all of forty yards after Scholz blinded Sim with a clever dummy. Nevertheless Halifax struck back after a loopy Denham long-throw was stabbed in at the far post by Jones and went on to equalise when Beadle’s effort cannoned off the bar to be scuffed over the line by Denham. Despite Alcuin’s protestations that the ball had not crossed the line goalkeeper Richard admitted after the game that it was a goal. The end result was probably fair. Even though Alcuin had some good fortune Halifax squandered some priceless opportunities.

Vision MOTM: Hamish Denham.