Halifax 4-1 AFC Fylde

McAlinden 11’, Sho-Silva 36’, King 53’, Binnom-Williams 73’— Rowe 45’

Att: 1913

AFC Fylde succumbed to their second significant defeat at The Shay on Saturday, after a first-half rally was swiftly snubbed out by a dominant Halifax performance.

As expected with injuries and suspensions, Challinor somewhat shuffled the Coasters pack, as Croasdale and Bradley missed out.

There was a surprise announcement from the Coasters before kick-off, seeing former Kidderminster and Dundee attacking midfielder Elton Ngwatala named amongst the substitutes, after completing a move that afternoon.

First Half

The Coasters should have been ahead in the opening exchanges, as a short corner routine created an abundance of space for Kosylo, playing at his former side.

His cross found its way to Lewis Montrose, who’s powerful volleyed effort was denied well on the line by Johnson, which gave the home side the chance to reset.

And reset they did and, after controlling possession, they found the breakthrough just eleven minutes into the game.

McAlinden was found in acres of space and didn’t need to be asked twice, dispatching his effort low into the bottom corner and giving the home side the lead.

Despite Halifax looking a threat on the counter, Fylde enjoyed their best spell of the game, with Willoughby and Kosylo both snatching at chances which could have seen them draw level.

The corner count kept creeping up, but they couldn’t amount to anything, and eventually the Shaymen capitalised on the Coasters’ forward position.

A lightening quick counter saw Sho-Silva played through in simple fashion, and despite the efforts of Kosylo in tracking back, his low effort beat Montgomery from inside the box.

This had probably been an undeserved lead at this stage for Halifax, as Fylde had grown back into the game – and fortunately had something to show for it at the interval.

After winning a corner, Danny Rowe popped up in the box to nip the ball off of Montrose’s feet, touch past a defender, and fire through a sea of blue and yellow bodies.

Second Half

At the half-time whistle, things seemed in place for the Coasters to come back out in the second half and take the game to Halifax – but this wasn’t the case.

Nick Haughton replaced Kurt Willoughby at half-time in a bid to try and breach the Halifax back four, with Rowe reverting back to his central forward position.

It was the home side who started with the higher intensity, with King stinging Montgomery’s palms just one minute after the restart.

The warning signs were certainly there for Fylde, as McAlinder drifted past James Craigen and fired narrowly over from the edge of the box all too easily.

This didn’t serve as the reminder it should have however, as just two minutes later Cameron King was found in space in the penalty box, taking a touch before rifling it into the net for Halifax’s third.

Fylde didn’t respond in a direct enough manner, and despite plenty of opportunities from set-pieces, the game was finished in the 73rd minute after more sloppy defending.

Binnom-Williams was left unchecked, as he made his way from left back towards the Coasters box, taking a touch past Craigen before curling it into the top left corner.

By this stage the Coasters knew the game was over, and despite Danny Rowe missing an opportunity late on, Fylde were deservedly beaten by their Yorkshire counterparts.

Teams

Halifax: Johnson, Duckworth, Clarke, Brown (C), Binnom-Williams, Nolan, Staunton, McAlinden, King, Allen, Sho-Silva.

Subs: Appleyard, Earing, Hanson, Macdonald, King.

AFC Fylde: Montgomery, Duxbury, Byrne, Whitmore, Craigen, Montrose, Philliskirk, Rowe, Kosylo, Yeates, Willoughby.

Subs: Jameson, Williams, Ngwatala, Lavercombe, Haughton.