Wed, 09 Jan 2008 @ The Shay Stadium, Halifax. vs Halifax Town (1-2). FA Carlsberg Trophy - Round 1. By D Hucker. After two postponements due to a frozen pitch, the match finally get underway at the third attempt. The Shay Stadium was not a place for the faint-hearted, with a swirling wind and rain giving way to sleet and snow with claps of thunder thrown in for good measure. By the end, the pitch was saturated and had become testing for both sides, making passing and tackling difficult.
Backed by a vociferous away support, Brakes got off to the perfect start when, on 3 minutes, Ben Mackey picked up a loose ball and sent a stunning shot past Craig Mawson into the corner.
The Halifax full-timers pressed the Brakes defence, playing some neat football with Jon Shaw a threat down the left. They almost got an equaliser in the 35th minute, but Adam Quinn's goalbound shot was cleared off the line by Mackey helping out in defence.
Jamie Towers sent Martin Thompson on his way to goal with a perfectly flighted long pass, but Mawson rushed from his line and upended the Brakes striker outside the penalty area, earning himself a yellow card.
Despite no stoppages in the half, the referee added a minute of extra time and, when Martin Hier was harshly judged to have fouled in the penalty area, Shaw stepped up to put the spot kick beyond Richard Morris to bring Halifax level.
Morris got down well to deny Darryn Stamp at the start of the second half. Hier was booked for a foul on Rob Scott and, with Halifax creating more chances, Craig Dutton conceded a corner to deny Shaw again. Adam Cooper let in Andy Campbell, but recovered his ground well to deny the Halifax substitute a clear shot on goal.
Just when it looked as if Brakes would take their Blue Square Premier opponents to a replay at the New Windmill, Heslop struck a speculative long-range shot on 87 minutes that beat Morris into the corner and deny Brakes the draw which they so richly deserved.
Every player gave his all and, having already beaten three sides from a higher level in the qualifying rounds of the competition, Brakes were more than a match for Halifax throughout the 90 minutes, as manager Jason Cadden reflected afterwards.
"The lads did us proud. They worked hard throughout, but It was just not our night. The bigger picture is what we have achieved in the Trophy, winning away at Margate and Fisher and we have shown that we can live with teams above us."
Halifax Town Craig Mawson, Rob Scott, Matt Doughty, Adam Quinn, Tom Kearney [Capt.], Darryn Stamp (Andy Campbell 58), Lewis Killeen, Jon Shaw, Pete Atherton, Alex Bailey (Danny Forrest 67), Simon Heslop.
Subs Not Used: Nicky Gray, Cortez Belle, Lee Butler (GK)
Brakes Richard Morris, Jamie Towers, Arron Parkinson [Capt.], Adam Cooper, Martin Hier, Stuart Herlihy, Craig Dutton, Ben Mackey, Martin Thompson (James Husband 76), Russell Dunkley (Josh Blake 61), Marcus Jackson
Subs Not Used: Morton Titterton, Ryan Parisi, Andy Harper (GK)