Halifax Town 3 (Tollitt 36, C.Allen 55, A.Allen 67) Wolves 0
Wolves under-21s suffered a 3-0 defeat to Halifax Town in the National League Cup at the Shay Stadium on Tuesday night.
Goals from Ben Tollitt, Cruz Allen and Arian Allen was enough to see the hosts pick up three points in the group stage.
Both sides started the cup clash on the front foot with high intensity, which saw a scrappy but evenly contested opening quarter of an hour.
The hosts found themselves growing into the match as the clock neared the 30-minute mark, dominating possession and winning duels, however the Wolves’ defence remained fully focused and defended well.
Arian Allen, who had been causing problems down the right-hand side, created the first real chance of the game with a neat through-ball into Tollitt, who slotted wide of the left-hand post.
Just a couple of minutes later, The Shayman’s persistence paid off with Tollitt clinically finishing on the volley directly from a Morgan-Smith cross into the box.
Despite the momentum continuing to swing Halifax’s way, it was The Old Gold who had the next opportunity, as determined pressing saw Tom Edozie win the ball high up, although his effort from just outside the box was steered wide of the post.
Half-time | Halifax Town 1-0 Wolves
Halifax started the second half the stronger side, with a curling effort from Cruz Allen outside the box edging inches away from the post, keeping Wolves keeper Josh Gracey on his toes.
Just like Tollitt in the first half, Allen redeemed himself from a missed opportunity a couple of minutes earlier, with a simple finish around the six-yard box giving John McGrath’s side a two-goal lead in the 55th minute.
The home side came close again 10 minutes later when captain Cody Johnson lined up for a shot from 30 yards out, however the tame effort rolled into the hands of Gracey in goal.
Halifax gained a grip of the match and scored their third in the 66th minute, which came from Arian Allen finishing with precision after being found one on one from a Johnson long ball.
Despite the scoreline, Wolves continued to attack and show pressure, as spectacular link up play between Dayman and Ballard-Matthews down the right-hand flank forced a save from the keeper following a Ballard-Matthews’ low-driven shot.
A well-driven shot that struck the post in added time by Conor Douglas rounded off the action for the night.
Wolves will look to bounce back in style as they face Stoke City at the GRG Waste Stadium this Friday in the Premier League 2.
Full-time | Halifax Town 3-0 Wolves
Halifax Town: Johnson (GK), Bardell, Conte, Flint (Hobson 73’), Morgan-Smith, Hill (Hugill 81’), Tollitt, Allen (Bray 76’), Trusty, Allen (Douglas 74’), Johnson (Wainman 76’)
Subs: Grant, Carty
Wolves: Gracey (GK), Dayman, Nolan-Ruddock (Ojinnaka 60’), White, Lochhead, Bradbury (Rawlings 46’), González (Anunlopo 60’), Ashworth, Angel (Ballard-Matthews 61’), Ji (Fraser 85’), Edozie
Subs: Arnold, Aneke
By Ben Stone