Josh Wilde is delighted to be โback doing what he lovesโ as he made his long-awaited return from injury in FC Halifax Townโs stalemate against Solihull this weekend.
The full back played the full 90 minutes in the 0-0 draw and slotted back into the team with ease, putting in a solid display in left back for the Shaymen.
It was his first game back since the end of January, with injury keeping him on the side-lines but is finally back and could barely contain his delight.
โIโve missed it. Iโve not been around the lads very much due to being injured and things, so itโs been nice to get back into the swing of things again and back doing what I love to do which is play games and play footballโ
For him personally it was a good performance and a clean sheet in his first game back and the home side looked solid at the back, limiting Solihull to few chances.
However, with the Shaymen creating the better of the opportunities, Wilde has admitted heโs slightly disappointed not to come away with the three points.
โI thought we had the better of the chances in the first half, did really wellโ
โWeโre always gutted not to come away with three points but at the end of the day the lads put a great shift in again.โ
โAll in all, may have been a fair result in the end but weโre disappointed that we havenโt come away with a win.โ
Halifax have looked solid at the back ever since Jamie Fullarton took over which is especially impressive considering the number of injuries to defenders as of late.
Wildeโs return will bolster Jamieโs options and knows he must impress to keep himself on the team sheet and a clean sheet is a great way of doing so.
โClean sheet, thatโs what weโre there for as defenders, so we did everything right that we could do and kept them out and kept them at bay.โ
โObviously my first game back in a while so itโs good to just slot back in and the lads looked after me and hopefully I looked after them at times.โ
As mentioned, injuries have forced the managerโs hand as of late as players face spells on the touch line.
Even though he managed the full 90 minutes, Wilde has revealed he was still a few sessions away from an ideal state to return but was thrown back in due to injury setbacks to other players.
โI still need a few training sessions really and things like that, Iโve only had two training sessions before today, the gaffer wanted me to have five ideally but obviously with injuries it just wasnโt to be.โ
โI knew I was going to be a bit, sort of, few cobwebs which there were at times but overall Iโm quite happy with how did to say itโs been so long.โ
Seven points clear of relegation now for the Shaymen and looking in an increasingly solid position to avoid the drop come the end of the season.
Fifty points is the apparent โmagic numberโ and the squad have set that as their benchmark this season.
โHopefully, weโll keep reaching for that big fifty, keep going as best we can to get there. The lads have been brilliant, pushing all the way and we are going to do everything we can to reach that.โ
โWeโre still disappointed which shows our intent so yeah doing really well and just need to keep going and hopefully we can get a win on the bank holiday games we be perfect.โ
Fylde is the next fixture in store for the Shaymen and is set up to be a very tough game, with The Coasters being top goal scorers in the division.
The main man behind this superb scoring form is league top scorer Danny Rowe and Wilde knows the defence need to do everything they can to keep him quiet.
โWe all know heโs a goal scorer, he loves to strike it from distance, chops all the time, but weโre going to have to be on our game to keep him out.โ
โAt the end of the day theyโre doing really well this season so itโs going to be a tough test but weโre going to be up for it and ready like we always are and prepared in the right way.โ
To watch the full interview with Josh Wilde, or more post-match reaction from Connor Thomson and manager Jamie Fullarton, head over to Shaymen TV.
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