The Latics, who finished three points and one place clear of the Shaymen in the regular season, scored three times in the opening 12 minutes to set up a semi-final against York.

Despite a slightly mixed run towards the end of the campaign, Oldham came into the game as favourites. Halifax, meanwhile, had endured a challenging end to the season, winning just two of their final 10 matches, and were without a number of key players.

Halifax conceded three first half goals in last year’s play-off eliminator against Solihull Moors and suffered a similar fate in Greater Manchester, trailing 3-0 inside a quarter of an hour. Veteran Joe Garner fired the hosts in front after just three minutes before two former Poolies struck to put the game beyond the reach of the reeling Town. Mark Kitching, who made 85 appearances in the North East, doubled Oldham’s lead in the 10th minute before Mike Fondop, who became something of a figure of ridicule at Victoria Park after failing to score in 13 appearances despite comparing himself to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, added a third two minutes later. Fondop, who scored against Pools last month, has enjoyed a prolific campaign and has now notched 18 goals this term.

Halifax managed to stem the tide of Oldham pressure but the result was never in doubt, with the Latics adding a fourth nine minutes into the second half when Joe Pritchard got in on the act.

Speaking after the game, manager Micky Mellon told Oldham’s official club website he was delighted with his side’s “terrific” performance.

“It was terrific from the start,” he said.

“I was delighted with the way we came out of the traps in an unbelievable atmosphere. It was a terrific atmosphere created by our fantastic support.

“When you get into those kinds of situations you just don’t want to let people down, you see the ground all full and you go ‘come on boys, let’s deliver’. And deliver they did, they were terrific. They showed a lot of composure in what was a terrific atmosphere. We executed all of the things we work on all the time and we’re really, really pleased to get to the next stage.”

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