Oldham Athletic’s playoff hopes ended after draw with Halifax Town at Chesterfield’s SMH Group Stadium

Halifax Town and Oldham Athletic met at Chesterfield’s SMH Group Stadium this evening, after issues with the pitch at The Shay had forced Halifax to move their remaining home games to Accrington and Derbyshire.

Halifax knew that a win would put them two points clear of Aldershot in the final playoff place, while Oldham needed all three points to keep their faint hopes of reaching the top seven alive.

Chris Millington made a number of changes from Halifax’s 0-0 draw against Ebbsfleet on Tuesday. Summerfield, Thompson-Sommers, Wright, George and Cooke were replaced by Hunter, Hoti, Harker, Cosgrave and Oluwabori.

Micky Mellon decided not to stick with the XI that drew away at Oxford City over the weekend. Sachdev, Kitching, Lundstram, Hope and Norwood made way for Hobson, Green, Sutton, Conlon and Garner.

After a cautious opening period, the game burst into life after a superb strike from Oldham’s Dan Gardner. The breakthrough came after 18 minutes, when he met an out-swinging corner brilliantly on the half volley and rifled the ball beyond Johnson.

Oluwabori did find the back of the net on 39 minutes, tapping home after a cross, but the linesman duly flagged for offside.

The second major opportunity of the game came just before the end of the first half, and saw Halifax draw level. Hudson failed to deal with a shot from range, with the ball bouncing off him and into the path of Harker - who made no mistake and finished calmly beyond the Oldham keeper.

Oluwabori nearly put Halifax ahead almost as soon as the second half kicked off, cutting inside and forcing Hudson to dive to his right to keep the ball out.

Oldham won a penalty after 56 minutes, after a coming together between Garner and a Halifax defender. Gardner stepped up and hit his spot kick powerfully beyond Johnson into the bottom left corner - giving Oldham a 2-1 lead.

Adan George was brought on to replace Cosgrave after 69 minutes, and he immediately brought Halifax back into the game. An effort from the lively Oluwabori was deflected into his path, and he had acres of space and plenty of time to slot the ball beyond Hudson to equalise.

For the final 20 minutes, both sides drove forward in attack and produced some resolute defending when required. Halifax nearly stole the three points in dramatic fashion after 93 minutes, but Harker was unable to convert after finding himself one-on-one with Hudson.

The game finished 2-2 - a hard-fought contest played in strange circumstances, with an attendance of 1,580. Credit has to go to both sets of supporters, who created a good atmosphere despite having to travel to Derbyshire on a Thursday night for this hastily rearranged fixture. Chesterfield also deserve plaudits for stepping in to host the game - as Halifax’s pitch troubles continue.

Halifax now sit in seventh place, courtesy of goal difference, and have a great chance of holding onto the final playoff place on Saturday. For Oldham, however, the draw means that they have missed out on the playoffs, and will remain in the National League for the 2024/25 season.