Kosylo grabs late winner as Shaymen progress at last in Cup

SOMETIMES, good things come to those who wait. Just ask FC Halifax Town.
Tom Denton celebrates his opening goal for FC Halifax Town. Picture Bruce RollinsonTom Denton celebrates his opening goal for FC Halifax Town. Picture Bruce Rollinson
Tom Denton celebrates his opening goal for FC Halifax Town. Picture Bruce Rollinson

At the fifth time of asking since the club reformed in 2008, the Shaymen – after previous first-round defeats to Wycombe, Bradford City, MK Dons and Charlton Athletic – booked their place in the hat for round two and few could say they did not deserve it.

It has been a sweet cup year for Halifax and after their history-making exploits in the FA Trophy, they are now one victory away from securing a place with the big boys on third-round weekend in the new year.

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Standing in their way are Ronnie Moore’s Eastleigh, with the Shaymen’s elimination of another National League side in Dagenham last night providing plenty of optimism heading into that tie in early December.

Matt Kosylo celebrates his winning goal.Matt Kosylo celebrates his winning goal.
Matt Kosylo celebrates his winning goal.

Cups are made for heroes and Halifax had one in the shape of substitute Matt Kosylo, whose superb low drive won it in the nick of time when extra-time loomed after Corey Whitely had cancelled out home top-scorer Tom Denton’s 35th-minute opener for the 10-man visitors.

In the process, it provided a spot of immense relief for the hosts, who thankfully did not pay a hefty price for missing a penalty for the second home game running.

A division below their opponents they might be, but Halifax made a mockery of that in a barnstorming opening in which the visitors were barely able to draw breath and were indebted to the officials for controversially ruling out two early ‘goals’.

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Despite those calls, the vibrant hosts commendably refused to feel sorry for themselves and fully merited their interval lead carved out by an excellent strike from Denton.

Matt Kosylo celebrates his winning goal.Matt Kosylo celebrates his winning goal.
Matt Kosylo celebrates his winning goal.

Just 35 seconds in, it looked like the Shaymen had laid down a marker when a MacDonald cross was blasted instinctively into the top corner by Alex Simmons, only for the officials to spot an offence in the build-up.

Nine minutes in, there was more angst when a marginal offside call denied Halifax after Denton converted a near-post header from Kevin Roberts’s centre.

Thankfully, there was no denying Denton’s similarly emphatic strike, when he fired home a rising strike from distance after Liam King’s cross was only half-cleared.

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It was just reward for the Shaymen, for whom MacDonald went close, while Jordan Sinnott brought out a smart reaction save from Mark Cousins.

At the other end, Steven Drench had little to do, aside from tipping over a cross-shot from Whitely, while Hawkins fired an excellent chance wide just before the break.

Hawkins’s evening took a further downturn a few minutes before the hour when he was dismissed, somewhat harshly, for a deliberate handball with Simmons poised to race clear – with a penalty also awarded.

But Halifax fluffed their lines from the spot with Cousins guessing correctly and beating away Sinnott’s fierce effort.

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The miss winded the hosts and Dagenham, to their credit, hung in there and conjured their 
first genuine piece of quality that reaped a dividend on 73 minutes.

A slick raid ended in Jordan Maguire-Drew sliding in Whitely, who finished neatly, low past Drench.

Despite an extra man, it was Halifax who proceeded to lose their way and their intensity levels dipped.

Their best hope rested in the aerial prowess of Denton and after testing Cousins with one effort, the big striker went close with his downward header flying inches wide.

But the game-breaking moment was left to Kosylo.

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FC Halifax Town: Drench; Roberts, Garner, Hotte, Wilde; MacDonald; King, Sinnott (Hibbs 74), Lynch; Denton, Simmons (Kosylo 67). Unused substitutes: Nicholson, Peniket, Moyo, Barrows.

Dagenham and Redbridge: Cousins; Widdowson, Hawkins, Doe, Raymond; Staunton, Hyde; Whitely, Guttridge, Maguire-Drew; Benson. Unused substitutes: Justham, White, Mitchell, Brown, Gordon, Mongoy.