Moors fell to pre-season defeat against FC Halifax Town at The Brewery Field despite Rob Ramshaw’s first goal of the warm-up campaign.
Josh Hmami opened the scoring from close range with half an hour on the clock, before David Kawa doubled the lead after the break. Ramshaw pulled one back soon after, only for Hmami to wrap the game up in stylish fashion with 18 minutes to play.
The visitors started the game strongly, curling an effort just wide of the mark in the opening 40 seconds, before a low ball across goal was tapped just wide by Hmami.
A Halifax corner spelled danger for the Moors defence as a trialist found space to prod a first-time effort from close range, only for him to turn the strike over the bar.
Moors’ first real opportunity came in the 22nd minute, as a trialist broke free of a couple of challenges to find himself on the edge of the penalty area. His curled effort, however, was caught routinely by True Grant in the Halifax net.
The Shaymen broke the deadlock on 30 minutes, as Amari Morgan-Smith capitalised on a goalkeeping error at the back. The frontman won the ball, before rolling it across to Hmami who thumped home into an empty net.
Dan Jones went close to equalising in spectacular fashion soon after, but his effort from almost the half-way line was just about claimed by the keeper.
It should’ve been two for the visitors with 10 minutes of the first half to go, when Arian Allen connected with a low ball across the face of goal. The number 11 prodded the ball goalwards, only for the effort to strike the underside of the bar and bounce out from five yards.
Moors’ trialist goalkeeper was called into action soon after the break when he had to tip Allen’s well taken strike around the post from close range.
Halifax went on to grab their second of the afternoon through David Kawa, who took a great touch on the edge of the box with his left foot, before instinctively lifting a first-time shot with the outside of his right to fire the ball into the top corner.
A good piece of work from Moors saw Ramshaw pull one back just after the hour mark. A brilliant long ball forward from Ben Pollock was brought down by the Moors skipper, who shrugged off a challenge before sliding the ball into the bottom right corner.
The visitors went on to find a third soon after however, as Hmami restored Halifax’s two-goal cushion. A brilliant strike from the number 8 lofted over the Moors goalkeeper and into the back of the net.
It could’ve been four just minutes later, but a good reaction save by the outstretched leg of the trialist goalkeeper kept out a close-range effort.
Jones tried his luck yet again from distance, this time from inside his own half, only for the trialist in goal for The Shaymen to scramble back and claw away the effort.
A tough test for Moors on home soil, who will now shift their focus onto Thursday’s penultimate pre-season game against Newcastle United’s Under-21s.
Full Time: Moors 1 FC Halifax Town 3
Moors: Trialist, Cantrill, Pollock, Jones, Whelan (Dolan 46), Jenkins, Trialist (Trialist 46), Dawson, Ramshaw, Trialist, Bennett (Trialist 81)
Subs not used: Beals, Salkeld, Trialist
Referee: Seb Stockbridge
Attendance: 377
Report by Noah Betts