FC Halifax Town suffered their first defeat of pre-season, but gave as good as they got during their 2-1 loss against Blue Square Premier side Grimsby Town.

Nathan Taylor and Jamie Vardy made welcome returns to the starting line-up after injury with the versatile Simon Garner switching to left-back, but Scott Phelan missed out for the second match in a row.

Halifax started brightly, more than holding their own against arguably the biggest team in the non-league scene. Liam Hogan looks like a more inspired signing with every performance and mopped up any danger from the visitors early on.

Jamie Vardy's reappearance was particularly welcome in the opening stages, who as well as giving good width on the left almost had a gilt edged chance after 15 minutes, but miscontrolled a flick on by Danny Holland when through on goal.

As expected, the away side showed some neat touches, but failed to find a path to goal. Town were more incisive though, and nearly scored when Harry Winter's chip found Holland, but the forward's looping header landed on the roof of the net.

However, the Mariners found the back of the net midway through the first 45 after a long ball found Nathan Dixon, who in turn sent his strike partner Lee Peacock in on goal and the veteran front man calmly swept the ball home.

Town's response was almost instantaneous though, as the lively Taylor latched onto a through-ball and to the surprise of the Grimsby defence, was deemed onside. Keeper Kenny Arthur was beaten to the ball, leaving Taylor with a simple finish after beating the stopper with some neat footwork.

Grimsby's central midfield pairing of Mark Hudson and Micky Cummins showed their football league pedigree with some well executed passes, but the home penalty box remained largely unpopulated as possession changed hands quickly.

Goalscoring opportunities changed hands at a pace to ten minutes before the interval, with Taylor trying and almost succeeding with a long-range lob from the right touchline, but Arthur managed to get back to his line in time.

Less than a minute later, Robert Eagle played a perfect pass to Dixon, who confidently swept the ball past Jonathan Hedge from just inside the area to restore the visitors' lead.

A lead that was almost cancelled out again just after the restart when James Riley headed a corner against the bar before Vardy's shot from the rebound was blocked and Hogan fired wide in a frantic penalty box tussle.

Scott Metcalfe had a low drive saved by Arthur as Town came flying out of the blocks. Metcalfe came close again a few minutes later, but headed narrowly over after good work from Vardy on the right.

The Mariners' defence looked all at sea under sustained Halifax pressure, with the introduction of Metcalfe giving Neil Aspin's side fresh impetus in attack.

Grimsby's defending was bordering on desperation, epitomised by Scott Garner's blatant professional foul midway into the second-half on Vardy, who would have been clean through. Had it been a league game, Garner's punishment would undoubtedly have been a red card rather than yellow.

Metcalfe came close to grabbing what would have been a deserved goal again with 15 minutes remaining when he smashed a close range shot against the post after a right-wing cross. Shortly afterwards, Vardy curled a shot wide from the edge of the area, but would have been better leaving the chance for the on-rushing Tom Baker.

The home side's dominance in the second-half more than merited a second equaliser, with the fact that the visitors were hanging on to what they had at the end testament to the Shaymen's battling display.

FC Halifax Town: Hedge (Senior 45), Hardy, Garner, Baker, Riley, Hogan, Gray (Plummer 80), Winter (Metclafe 45), Holland, Taylor (Marshall 45), Vardy. Subs Not Used: Heffernan

Goalscorers: Taylor (26)

Shots On Target: 4, Shots Off Target: 6, Corners: 4

Grimsby Town: Arthur (Colgan 77), Wood, Ridley, Cummins, Garner, Watt, Samuels, Hudson, Dixon, Peacock (Corner 75), Eagle. Subs Not Used: Gray, Hegarty, Rhoades, Leary

Goalscorers: Peacock (23), Dixon (36)

Shots On Target: 2, Shots Off Target: 4, Corners: 6

Attendance: 777

Tom Scargill