Raheem Conte scored his first two goals for FC Halifax Town as the Shaymen came from behind to beat bottom-of-the-table Gateshead 4-1 at The Shay, with all four home goals arriving in the second half.
Halifax created the first opening after five minutes when Ben Tollitt found Conor Carty inside the penalty area, but goalkeeper Pete Jameson blocked the forward’s effort. Jameson was called upon again in the 20th minute, pushing away a shot from Tommy McDermott after Tollitt had picked him out.
Gateshead nevertheless took the lead in the 26th minute with Freddie Issaka’s first goal for the club. The winger collected possession following a Halifax mistake and struck a powerful effort from outside the area into the top-right corner beyond True Grant.
John McGrath introduced Connor Douglas for McDermott in the 32nd minute, and Halifax continued to create openings before half-time. Max Bardell was unable to keep his effort down after making a run forward to meet Shaun Hobson’s long pass, while Jameson preserved Gateshead’s lead as the hosts searched for an equaliser.
Tollitt came close to levelling two minutes after the restart when his shot struck the post, but he helped create the equaliser in the 58th minute. The winger beat two defenders before laying the ball into Conte’s path, and the defender struck first time beyond Jameson to score his first Halifax goal.
The hosts completed the turnaround seven minutes later. Cody Johnson found Douglas on the right and the substitute beat two Gateshead players before delivering a cross for Carty to head home from close range, putting Halifax 2-1 ahead.
McGrath made two further changes immediately afterwards, introducing Amari Morgan-Smith for Carty and David Kawa for Cruz Allen. Kawa, making his 50th appearance for Halifax, went on to play an important part in the closing stages.
Halifax extended their lead in the 84th minute after Kawa won possession inside the Gateshead half. He carried the ball forward before releasing Tollitt, who drove a rising shot into the top-left corner beyond Jameson for his first goal of the afternoon.
Conte completed the scoring in stoppage time with an excellent individual effort. Collecting the ball near the left corner flag, he beat two defenders before advancing towards the penalty area and curling a shot into the far top corner from a tight angle to complete his brace.
The victory gave Halifax successive league wins following their 2-0 success at Solihull Moors and moved McGrath’s side to 20 points from 13 National League matches. Gateshead remain bottom with four points after a seventh consecutive league defeat, having lost every league game since their victory over Eastleigh in early September.
