FC Halifax 2 Gateshead 2: Shaymen draw sixth game in succession

Halifax rode their luck at times, but played their part in an engrossing second half that saw Josh Gillies sent off and, as at Altrincham on Saturday, Neil Aspin’s side did pretty much everything but grab a winner.

James Bolton was the unlikely goalscorer, finding the net twice, first to level the score after Carl Finnigan’s opener before Gillies controversially equalised.

Gateshead took the lead when Jamie Chandler’s deft pass played in Finnigan.

Halifax produced the required response, Bolton stooping to head in Marc Roberts’s long throw.

Just before the break, Matt Glennon erred but then blocked Rob Ramshaw’s effort, Marc Roberts cleared his second and Schofield then cleared Jon Shaw’s header off the line.

A scramble ensued from another long throw by Roberts, and Bolton reacted quickest to direct a header beyond Dixon.

From Michael Rankine’s knock-down, Gillies turned in the loose ball despite protestations Glennon had been fouled.

Glennon then produced a magnificent double save as Gateshead broke clear, first denying Alex Rodman and then tipping Finnigan’s shot onto a post.

Gillies’s night ended a few minutes early when he was given a straight red card after a poor tackle on Bolton.