Halifax slip into bottom two

They started with a counter-attacking mind set and quickly made it 1-0 thanks to Josh Barron.

Halifax continued to put pressure on the Sheffield back line but saw many shots saved by an excellent keeper.

Sheffield scored two goals in quick succession midway through the half to take the lead against the run of play.

Halifax’s debutant and man of the match Alex Belshire provided Olly James with a perfect pass for a tap-in at the back post to make it 2-2.

In the second half Halifax missed several chances, which caused frustration. Sheffield scored three more on the counter-attack to take a clear lead.

In the dying moments Michael Jones saw a goal from a penalty corner disallowed.

Halifax find themselves back in the bottom two and will look to bounce back against City of York seconds, who are eighth in the table, on Saturday.

Halifax Ladies got the worst possible start after the mid- season break with an 8-3 defeat away to Thirsk.

They went from second to fourth in their section of the Northern Women’s League and their title bid looks over.

They were boosted by a fantastic goal from Emma Crawford, following superb play from Emma Liversidge and Kate Walsh, but the defence looked shaky and Thirsk soon replied.

Liversidge went off with a broken finger and the momentum swung Thirsk’s way, although Halifax still threatened in an action packed half which finished 4-3 in Thirsk’s favour.

A ball was fired out of defence by Katie Love and Dani Parker and Crawford combined to set up Kate Walsh for Halifax’s second. Walsh added the next from a well executed short corner.

It was a dire second half for Halifax, with Thirsk scoring four goals without reply. Halifax failed to mark and clear and three deflections off defender’s sticks made it a miserable day for Cassie Barker in goal.

Halifax will be keen to hit back against local rivals Huddersfield Dragons on Saturday.

Reports from Halifax’s other teams in Friday’s ‘Halifax Courier’