Danny Clarke feels his side were fighting an uphill battle in the 4-1 FA Trophy defeat to Maidenhead United which proved to be a frustrating afternoon for FC Halifax Town.
The midfielder believes that it was an underwhelming performance however feels the score line flatters the opposition.
‘Obviously a disappointing result, first half we did alright. It was just a poor, poor end to it really. Stupid defensive errors cost us, made it a bigger score line and look a worse game than it was I think.’
Things couldn’t have started any better for the Shaymen, however, as it only took Kosylo 35 seconds to bag his second goal since his return to the starting eleven and Clarke revealed that hitting the wide men was all part of the plan in this fixture.
‘We saw very early on that there was space for Kossy, I’ve tried to play it through between the full back and the centre half and it’s got cut out, but we’ve managed to score from it.’
‘We tried getting Macca and Kossy involved as much as we could because they’re our outlets and we know what they do’
However, home supporters will feel that Halifax’s afternoon was made much more difficult thanks to many refereeing decisions that didn’t go in their favour and Clarke is aware of just how challenging that can make things.
‘A lot of decisions didn’t go our way, there were certain areas where, like when Hibbs was going through and he’s been fouled, and we should have a free kick at the edge of the box and it’s given against us.’
‘It was just one of those days obviously the crowd was aware of our frustrations with the referee but obviously we can only try and do what we can’
A tough result to take for the squad and it is especially important to keep confidence high as we approach a pivotal point in the season however avoiding a replay will at least give Billy Heath a chance to assess his players and minimise the chance of injury.
‘It’s hard because sometimes those games are the ones where you get a good result, like if we got a good result today it’s just a confidence booster. If we drew it and we had to go there on Tuesday, it kills us in terms of the players, more chance of getting injured and fatigue and obviously a loss today, it’s put a downer on it so it’s one of them’
Mind-set is incredibly important in football and days like today can really prove difficult for players if decisions are not going their way however the Shayman number 18 feels the squad must do better at keeping confidence high and not letting heads drop.
‘In our minds we’re on top, we’re doing this and when the decisions are going against us and they score, it puts a massive downer on us and we need to be better and turn that round and try and stay positive and just try and go for it. ‘
In terms of injuries, Clarke feels the squad is struggling and knows that it’s difficult for the manager with such a thin squad and without the privilege of being able to rotate for different competitions.
‘I think the main thing for the gaffer is, he feels the squad isn’t big enough to be able to make the changes to try and do well in the trophy as well’
‘Obviously we’ve gone with what he feels is his full strength available today and it hasn’t paid off, so I think, looking at it, it was only a couple of knocks, nothing major, so we’ve got a week to recover so.’
Watch the full interview on Shaymen TV along with Billy Heath and Shiraz Khan
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