Halifax Town have secured a 1-1 draw with Macclesfield Town to return to the top of the Conference Premier table.

With Barnet not playing until tomorrow, the Shaymen knew that a point would be enough to return to first place and that's what they earned after a hard-fought contest.

After a quiet opening, Halifax took control at Moss Rose, with both Lois Maynard and Matty Pearson having efforts blocked by the home side's defence.

Macclesfield stopper Rhys Taylor was then forced into action to stop another strike from Pearson, but with the half drawing to a close, the home side finally posed a threat in the final third as Waide Fairhurst tried his luck from inside the penalty area.

Halifax netted the goal that their play deserved six minutes into the second half when Scott Boden was on hand to power the ball past the goalkeeper from eight yards after being set up by Jamie Jackson.

However, it took Macclesfield just five minutes to get back on level terms. Arthur Gnahoua picked up the ball on the right side of the penalty area before driving a shot across goal into the far corner of the net.

The equaliser encouraged Macclesfield to push men forward in search of a second, but they were unable to add to their tally as Fairhurst and Gnahoua both had shots fail to hit the target from inside the penalty area.

Both teams created opportunities during the closing 10 minutes but the spoils were shared after a competitive game.

Written by
Darren Plant