Vanbrugh put in a professional performance against a spirited Halifax side who played with great commitment and tenacity throughout the whole match. Despite not hitting top gear Vanbrugh were always in control of the match but were made to work by the industrious Halifax side.
The match began with both sides relatively evenly matched and with both showing early attacking promise with Ryan Doherty having a great chance to open the scoring for Halifax but his shot went just wide. Both sides showed significant attacking flair and the match was a significant more equal affair than many had envisaged. However the first goal came very quickly with Rory Sharkey setting up Kieran O’Dwyer who coolly slotted the chance away for Vanbrugh.
This did not, however open the damn to a Vanbrugh rout. Indeed the match remained finely balanced with both sides having significant chances. Elliot Rous Ross had a good chance for Vanbrugh but his shot went well wide. Halifax also had a good chance as Doherty’s shot after a great individual run went agonisingly wide. The yo-yoing continued with a great chance for Rob Rix for Vanbrugh which was not far away from scoring at all.
The teams came in at half time with the game in the balance. The two sides had been very evenly matched and it was only Vanbrugh’s more clinical finishing that had made the difference.
The second half began with a almost immediate Vanbrugh goal. Phil Taylor set up Ryan Sharkey who coolly slotted the ball home to allay any fears Vanbrugh would have had. However despite being 2-0 Halifax continued to play committed, attacking and often high quality football and continued to cause problems for Vanbrugh. Doherty who was a constant danger went on a great run but his final shot went straight at the keeper.
Indeed for a spell it was clear that Vanbrugh was on top, with the majority of the possession, although it was clear thy lacked the cutting edge of their higher end opponents. Vanbrugh were not firing on all cylinders, indeed they seemed to be lacking in some fluency, although it was clear they were in complete control and were very professional in their performance. Rous Ross nearly added a third but his shot, from a seemingly impossible rightward angle went just over.
The final ten minutes were pretty quiet with Vanbrugh seemingly content to sit back and see out the time.
Vanbrugh captain James Wilson was relatively please with his sides performance, although he admitted they had failed to hit top gear “credit to Halifax, they were probably out toughest opponents of the group stages” he told Vision “we weren’t at our best though, but we got the result. We always bring our best to the 1sts games though, and we’ll look forward to those matches.”