The 2005/06 season opens with a defeat against a tough Morecambe side at Christie Park.
The Shaymen will walk away from this one feeling a more than a little disappointed, having created a good number of goalscoring opportunities but being unable to find the all important finishing touch, often hampered by home keeper Ryan Robinson who earned himself the man of the match award.
Halifax's first real effort came on 10 minutes when Gary Brabin latched onto Martin Fosters corner. However, from 7 yards out he scuffed his shot and Robinson was on hand to contain the situation.Five minutes later a Foster corner again proved difficult to deal with and this time around Peter Atherton connected but was unable to keep his close range header on target. John Grant was next to have pop on goal but after holding the ball up well he fired wide of the mark from 35 yards out.
Town's best move of the game came on 20 minutes when Grant crossed the ball from the right into the path of Lewis Killeen. The ex Sheffield United youngster saw his goalbound header blocked at the death by a retreating Morecambe defender.
Moments later the tide turned and Morecambe went ahead with their first effort of the game.Wayne Curtis worked his way between Denny Ingram and Atherton and from just inside the box managed to lob the ball over Ian Dunbavin and into the net.
There is no question that this was cruel blow and somewhat against the run of play. Despite this, t didn't quell Halifax's determination but at the same time Robinson was keen to show his worth.First he kept out Grant's effort with his feet before easily dealing with Foster's speculative shot. In response the Shrimpers were limited to single effort from Michael Twiss, who's 34th minute header went well wide.
The second half followed a similar pattern, with Grant seeing his 48th minute effort easily held by Robinson.A minute later it looked like the Shaymen had done enough to level the scores.This time the keeper could only parry Killeen's close range shot.Ryan Sugden looked certain to get to the rebound first and tap the ball home, but he appeared to be impeded before he could make contact with the referee ignoring Town's penalty appeals.
The onslaught continued to no avail, Greg Young coming closest to getting his team the reward they deserved.Firstly when his powerful header was well tipped over the bar by Robinson and the shortly after wards when his probing cross met with the same fate as the steadfast stopper was being put under serious pressure by Sugden.The late introductions of Chris Senior and Justin Bowler, for Craig Midgely and Young respectively, failed to influence the final outcome and the hosts were left wondering how on earth they managed to hold onto all three points.
There is no doubting that this one was a tough opener and to their credit the Shaymen were by no means 'off the pace'.Chris Wilder acknowledged this and after the game and commented "this was an excellent team performance and I am delighted with the attitude of my players.Their goalkeeper was man of the match and that tells a story".
Its now time for Wilder and his team to focus on Tuesday night's game at home to Burton Albion and convert the positives into points.
Town :- Dunbavin, Haslam, Young (Bowler 85), Atherton, Ingram, Foster, Brabin, Midgley (Senior 71), Killeen, Sugden (Thompson 90), Grant
Morecambe :- Robinson, Heard (Carlton 70), Kempson, Bentley, Thompson (O'Connor 90), Howard, Blackburn, Perkins, Twiss, Hunter (Kelly 78), Curtis
