Poll - FC Halifax Town 1 Bradford City 2: Aspin rues ‘letting Bradford off hook’ as City show their spirit

The hope for the Shaymen ahead of yesterday’s high noon derby with Bradford City was that the reformed club could create their own piece of history to rival that famous 1980 triumph.

For a little over an hour, Lois Maynard looked set to join Paul Hendrie – the scorer of the goal that beat Malcolm Allison’s Blues all those years ago – on the list of Halifax’s Cup heroes after putting the Vanarama Premier side ahead.

However, from the moment Jon Stead equalised for the Bantams early in the second half, the League One club always looked the more likely to progress.

Sure enough, an accomplished finish from Filipe Morais just three minutes after Stead’s equaliser meant Halifax’s hopes of claiming a first Football League scalp since re-forming in 2008 were at an end.

A consolation, of course, is the six-figure payout Halifax have earned from an 8,042 crowd – almost double the previous record for the fledgling club – and a live appearance on BT Sport.

For manager Neil Aspin, however, the frustration he felt at missing out on at least a replay was clear.

He said: “I am disappointed to have lost and I do feel we let them off the hook.

“I think a draw would have been a fair result, especially in terms of chances.

“When you draw a big team in the FA Cup, you lose the advantage as a non-league team here by having such a good set-up.

“For Bradford, it will have been like playing at a League ground.

“The surface is excellent, and maybe I would have preferred having the pitch like it was against Manchester City all those years ago.

“That would have been more of an advantage.

“But the pitch meant our start was important and getting the lead was great because it settled us down.

“Unfortunately, the poor 15-minute spell we had after half-time killed it for us.”

With more than 16 years having elapsed since the two West Yorkshire rivals had last met in a competitive fixture, the teams could perhaps have been expected to tip-toe around each other in the early stages.

Instead, Halifax tore into the visitors from the start.

Aided by an awful back pass from Alan Sheehan that led to the first of three corners in as many minutes, the hosts took the lead when Maynard gleefully converted from close range after Bradford had been undone by a near post flick-on.

For the rest of the first half, the Bantams dominated possession but lacked a cutting edge and it was the Shaymen who continued to carry more of an attacking threat.

Steve Williams, against his former club, was only denied on 34 minutes by a stunning reflex save by his namesake Ben in the visitors’ goal after the central defender had been picked out by Paul Marshall.

Then, twice in quick succession just before the break, Scott Boden went close with a fizzing 25-yard effort and then a scooped shot that flew wide of the upright when the Halifax striker will know that he really should have done better.

The second of those misses proved a turning point with City, transformed by the introduction of Billy Clarke at half-time, snatching an equaliser within five minutes of the restart.

Clarke was the creator with a delightfully weighted pass that allowed Stead to skip round home goalkeeper Matt Glennon before rolling the ball into an empty net.

Three minutes later, Bradford were in front and, again, Clarke was the key man with another fine pass releasing Filipe Morais. As Glennon raced from his line in an attempt to close down the Portuguese-born midfielder, he fired an unstoppable shot into the corner of the net.

After that, the visitors assumed control as Glennon had to save smartly from Mark Yeates and then Clarke.

Finally, though, Halifax rallied and came close to snatching an equaliser at the finish as, first, a goalbound shot by Maynard was deflected agonisingly wide by Stephen Darby. Then, from the resulting corner, Marc Roberts’s header was blocked on the line by Morais.

Moments later, referee Andy D’Urso blew the final whistle to signal that City were through courtesy of a repeat of the 2-1 scoreline on the club’s previous visit to The Shay in a 1998 League Cup tie.

City manager Phil Parkinson, who was without top scorer James Hanson due to a thigh problem, said: “The tie was everything that we expected.

“I came here (when Halifax beat Chorley in a fourth qualifying round replay) and was told it would be the biggest game since they went out of the League.

“They were baying for blood but, equally, this was a big test for us and I felt we came through it well.

“Halifax are a strong, physical team who effectively have five centre-halves in their line-up. Long-throws and set-plays are a big part of their game.

“Unfortunately for us, we fell behind early on. But we stayed calm at half-time (in the dressing room) and said to the players that they had to stand up to it physically.

“Equally, we said, if it becomes a war for 45 minutes then we won’t be going through. Instead, we had to remain calm in possession and that is what we did.

“Everyone wants to be in the third-round draw and we are a step closer to that after our quality came through.”

FC Halifax Town: Glennon; M Roberts, Ainge, Williams (Smith 54); K Roberts, Maynard, Marshall (Jackson 73), Pearson, McManus; Boden, Peniket. Unused substitutes: Senior, Bolton, Dyer, Wilson, Schofield

Bradford City: Williams; Darby, Davies, Sheehan, Meredith; Morais, Kennedy, Halliday (Clarke 46), Yeates (McArdle 84); Knott (Dolan 90); Stead. Unused substitutes: Routis, McBurnie, Urwin, Webb-Foster.

Referee: A D’Urso (Essex).