A hard-fought contest at The Shay Stadium saw Hartlepool United secure a valuable 1-0 victory against FC Halifax Town, further solidifying their recent resurgence. The first half was a stop-start affair, punctuated by frequent interventions from the referee. Halifax’s Harvey Sutcliffe received the first yellow card of the match in the 30th minute for a foul, with teammates Florent Hoti and Adam Alimi-Adetoro also cautioned for similar offences before half-time. Halifax manager Chris Millington responded to these disciplinary issues by substituting Owen Bray for Angelo Capello. Despite Halifax’s struggles, Hartlepool remained unable to break the deadlock until the 41st minute, when Reyes Cleary scored, assisted by Tom Parkes.
The second half witnessed a more controlled approach from both teams, although the bookings continued. Millington himself was shown a yellow card in the 67th minute for dissent, highlighting the increasing frustration on the Halifax bench. Parkes was then booked, followed by Hartlepool’s Emmanuel Dieseruvwe. Both managers made a series of substitutions in the second half: Luca Thomas, Sean Tarima, Dubem Eze, and Daniel Nkrumah were introduced for Halifax, while Nicky Featherstone, Luke Charman, Sam Folarin, and Jack Hunter came on for Hartlepool. Despite these changes, the scoreline remained unchanged, and Hartlepool secured a crucial away win.
Entering the match, Halifax occupied 5th place in the National League table, while Hartlepool sat in 14th. The result leaves Halifax in 5th and elevates Hartlepool to 12th. This was the fourth meeting between the two sides in recent seasons. Halifax now hold a slight edge in the head-to-head record with two wins to Hartlepool’s one, and one draw. Their previous encounter this season finished goalless.