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Photos: Jack Western
A late winner by Ed Henry secured Halifax 3rds passage through to the plate final on Thursday at the expense of Derwent 2nds, as ‘fax marched to a 2-1 victory.
Joe Eyles had cancelled out Jake Mason’s early opener for Halifax, and despite a series of great chances for both sides, the winning goal did not arrive until the 54th minute, when Henry slotted home into the bottom left hand corner, past the dive of Frank Woodcock, to set up a clash with Wentworth 1sts in the final on Thursday.
Derwent, who had defeated their own third team last week, started brightly and Jon Garness capitalised on a through ball and lobbed stand-in ‘keeper Hamish Denham, but also the bar. However in the 11th minute it was Halifax who opened the scoring, Jake Mason thundering a header home from six yards from a whipped Chris Harrison corner.
Derwent though almost responded instantly, as Ryan Gwinnett picked out Garness with a well-weighted through ball, but on the angle the forward could only flash his finish wide of the far post. Derwent had ‘keeper Woodcock to thank a minute later, as he made a brilliant sprawling save to deny Ryan Doherty, after the forward had been cleverly picked out by Henry.
Gwinnett was posing Derwent’s main threat, orchestrating play with clever touches and skilful runs, one of which was ended by a crucial intervention by Vinnie Cornwell. Derwent though equalised from the resulting corner, as Joe Eyles lost his marker and headed home Gwinnett’s corner at the near post, giving Denham no chance.
In the 25th minute Gwinnett produced one of the moments of the match, skipping past three challenges with a mazy run, but his finish was comfortably dealt with by Denham, whilst at the other end an Ed Henry shot fizzed over the bar from 15 yards on the stroke of half-time.
The second half was not as free-flowing as the first, as both teams began to tire in the heat, but still contained drama. Derwent started brightly, and Mirhire Overo-Tarimo threatened twice, once firing wide, before being smartly denied by Denham five minutes later. The resulting corner prompted a scramble in the Halifax area, with shots from Fisher and Eyles blocked, before Halifax quickly broke away as Alex Reick fed captain James McNeill who forced a reaction save from Woodcock.
Woodcock was in action again minutes later as he produced a flying save to tip Henry’s drive over the bar. The game though stagnated for a while afterwards, with few clear chances as the contest appeared to be heading to penalties. John Gow was denied from long range, whilst Gwinnett shot wide, but neither side was able to find the crucial third goal.
That was until the 54th minute, when Henry picked up the ball 16 yards out and placed the ball into the bottom corner of Woodcock’s net to send Halifax through to the final. Derwent pushed for a late equaliser, but it was to no avail, with a Bradshaw effort that flew off target as close as they came.
After the match a delighted Halifax captain James McNeill told Vision: “We played very well throughout, and everyone performed well every minute of the game. Ed Henry was our key performer again, and the defence was solid throughout bar one corner.”
Vision MOTM: Ryan Gwinnett