ACCRINGTON Stanley maintained their record of scoring in every game this season but only just.

After having two penalty appeals turned down, they were eventually third time lucky as the referee pointed to the spot when Gary Roberts was brought down by Steve Haslam.

And, just two minutes after his introduction, captain Peter Cavanagh slotted in the equaliser from the spot to make it a reasonably Happy New Year for the Reds.

But, with title chasers Exeter City and Grays Athletic both suffering defeats in their first games of 2006, it could have been oh, so much happier had they managed to secure more than two points from a possible six from their festive meetings with Halifax.

Stanley struggled to get a stranglehold on the first half and poor distribution got them in unnecessary trouble.

Fortunately, the Shaymen seemed to be lacking the quality touch to punish them, and the Reds must have breathed a sigh of relief when Rory Prendergast fired in an early trademark cross from the left wing.

The former Stanley favourite had instigated Halifax's first goal in their Boxing Day meeting, but, thankfully, this time, the ball drifted too far ahead of Tyrone Thompson as he charged into the box.

A booking for Prendergast and a free kick for Stanley created the home side's best chance of the opening exchanges as Haslam almost nodded the ball into his own net in a crowded goalmouth, while appeals for a push on Paul Mullin fell on deaf ears.

Ian Craney and Steve Jagielka later combined to release Mullin, but the Stanley striker couldn't get the ball under control before Halifax goalkeeper Adam Legzdins saved at his feet, although he looked to have grabbed hold of Mullin's leg before he claimed the ball.

Craney was unlucky not to fire Stanley into the lead just before the half-hour as he hammered the ball against the keeper's legs after latching onto Romuald Boco's glanced flick-on. The ball spun out to Roberts on the left flank, but in his haste to find an open net, he blazed high, wide and anything but handsome.

Craney then picked out Steve Jagielka from the left of the area 18 yards out.

The wide man controlled it first time and was unlucky to drill his low shot wide of the left hand upright.

Halifax broke, and Martin Foster went close to chipping Rob Elliot after the Stanley stopper edged off his line before Denny Ingram had a chance after Stanley failed to clear a free kick for Phil Edwards' foul on Prendergast but he couldn't hit the target.

Prendergast was first to react when a Stanley attack broke down and burst down the right, finding Matt Doughty at the far corner of the box, but the former Rochdale full back could only roll his shot straight at Elliot.

Stanley had second appeals for a penalty ignored as the half drew to a close.

Roberts was proving a handful for the Halifax back line, quite literally, as Haslam and Peter Atherton wrestled him to the ground as the winger tried to run through the middle of them inside the box. But the referee never flinched.

Halifax started the second half brighter and Elliot was forced into his first real save of the afternoon, blocking Foster's initial shot, from which the midfielder screwed the rebound horribly off target.

Stanley responded with Craney and Roberts combining on the edge of the box, only for Roberts' left foot shot to drop wide across goal.

Jagielka then had a wicked centre thumped away by Adam Quinn.

But the Reds found themselves on the back foot moments later as Halifax conjured a goal out of nothing.

Danny Forrest received the ball on the left angle of the box and somehow found the bottom corner with the weakest of shots, with a diving Elliot perhaps unsighted by his back line.

Stanley manager John Coleman rang the changes with a double substitution on 66 minutes with David Brown and Andy Mangan entering the fray.

And the move paid off as Stanley looked a much more potent attacking threat.

Then, moments after captain Cavanagh replaced Phil Edwards, the referee finally adjusted his penalty radar and pointed to the spot following Haslam's trip on livewire Roberts.

Cavanagh was made to wait before his moment a glory as referee Colin Harwood booked Halifax defender Quinn and Craney following an altercation.

But Cavanagh failed to be sidetracked and, when he was given the go-ahead, coolly slotted in the equaliser.