FC Halifax Town 3 Leigh Genesis 1
By Matt Lawton
September 19 2009
Leigh Genesis failed to keep hold of a half-time lead as three goals from FC Halifax Town saw the hosts cemented their place at the top of the UniBond League First Division North.
With centre back Karl Munroe serving the final game of the three match suspension he received for his red card in last month's defeat at Lancaster City, former Bolton Wanderers right back David Gbemie made his Leigh debut, with Chris Page partnering Jonathan Smith at centre back, while Matt Jansen and Jordan Stepien formed Leigh's strike partnership.
With barely five minutes on the clock, Leigh came close to taking the lead at the Shay when Kris King's left wing cross picked out Steve Flitcroft on the edge of the area, only for his shot to be cleared off the line by Halifax defender Steve Payne, just when it seemed set to hit the back of the net.
After less than twenty minutes of the game, Gbemie's debut was over as he pulled up with a strain in his leg, with Mark Ross coming off the bench to replace him.
In an open first half, Jamie Baguley forced Jonathan Hedge in to a low save with a shot from distance, while Genesis goalkeeper Stephen Drench expertly saved a James Dean shot with his legs after the ball had somewhat fortuitously rebounded off Chris Page and in to the path of Nicky Gray.
Leigh took the lead on twenty eight minutes when Drench picked out Jansen with a long kick, with the former Blackburn man cutting inside and deftly drawing James Riley in to a tackle that gave the visitors a penalty that was duly dispatched by Jordan Stepien to send the visiting fans in to raptures and give the Lancastrians a 1-0 half-time lead.
After what could only have been a severe half-time roasting, Halifax came out for the second half in determined mood and were back on level terms within seven minutes of the restart when King afforded Nicky Gray too much space to beat him on the outside before rolling an angled shot across Drench and in to the side of the net.
Despite a crowd of almost 1,300, the only noise was being made by the away supporters, but that was to change on sixty nine minutes when the home supporters finally came to life as a stray ball rebounded off Jack Dorney and luckily in to the path of James Dean, who made no mistake in racing clear of the defence and tucking the ball past Drench.
Even at a goal behind, Leigh were still in the game and came within a fraction of an equaliser when substitute Chris Thompson flicked a header agonisingly past the post from a Jamie Baguley free kick.
However, such is Leigh's luck at times, Halifax sealed the victory with ten minutes remaining when Dean somehow managed to outfox Leigh's offside trap and cross for Richard Marshall, who made no mistake in nodding in the rebound after seeing his initial shot superbly saved by Drench.
Jamie Baguley came close to pulling a goal back in stoppage time, but his long distance chip dropped on top of the net with Hedge, who up to this game had gone a remarkable period without conceding a goal, beaten. As it was, Halifax were comfortable victors and Leigh will have to recover ahead of the visit of local rivals Warrington Town to the Leigh Sports Village Stadium on Wednesday evening for a UniBond League Challenge Cup First Round tie.
Leigh Genesis; Stephen Drench, David Gbemie (Mark Ross), Kris King, Chris Page, Jonathan Smith, Jamie Baguley, Jack Dorney, Steve Flitcroft, Matt Jansen, Jordan Stepien (Chris Thompson), Tom Ince (Andy Heald)
| FC HALIFAX TOWN 3 LEIGH GENESIS 1 | |
| Date | Saturday 19th September 2009 |
| Venue | The Shay, Halifax, West Yorkshire |
| Attendance | 1,292 |
| Half time | FC Halifax Town 0 Leigh Genesis 1 |
| Competition | UniBond League First Division North |
| Scorers | |
| FC Halifax Town | Nicholas Gray (52) James Dean (69) Richard Marshall (80) |
| Leigh Genesis | Jordan Stepien (28 pen) |