FC Halifax Town manager Billy Heath says that it is about time the Shaymen went on a winning run after his side bounced back from their disastrous Bank Holiday weekend with a 2-1 win against AFC Telford United.
Town came from behind at New Bucks Head to take the win thanks to a second half goal from Nathan Hotte and a stunning curler from Richard Peniket – a strike that Heath believes proved to be the real game changer.
“Peniket has always had that in his locker. It was a great goal, a great individual goal. He came from the left channel and he cut inside and it was a great finish.
“It gave us the lift we needed. I thought second half we were worth the win.
Hopefully we will take some confidence from this. We looked a little bit short of confidence last week. I said to the players before the game that, yes, we have lost two games of Football, but it is so early in the season. We got the three points now and that’s the main thing.
“I thought the first half there wasn’t a lot of Football played. We looked slightly edgy and we weren’t confident on the ball. We weren’t passing it like we wanted too. So the first half was pretty even.
“I thought that the second half we raised it and we could have been two or three goals to the good.”
Heath’s team selection raised a few eyebrows before kick-off with last week’s Man of the Match Matty Kosylo left out altogether along with the bold decision to name no substitute keeper to back up Steve Drench.
“Matty picked up an injury against Harrogate. He couldn’t train this week; it was still sore. Today, with the short turnaround of games, we did not want to risk him. It is never great when people don’t train and you want them to play the Saturday. Hopefully he will be fit for Tuesday, definitely fit for Saturday.”
“It is always a risk to go without a substitute keeper but it is something I have done before because I wanted one more outfield option. Whatever team you pick is a bit of a risk to an extent. That is Football. I thought Drench did wonderfully today. His choices were very good and he showed his experience. He was able to take the pressure off us when we really needed it. He didn’t have a lot to do at all but when he was needed he did it right.”
Liam King and Cliff Moyo returned from injury and suspension respectively in the victory and were able to show manager Heath their value in the starting line-up, both linking well with midfielder Josh MacDonald.
“Cliff looked edgy first half but he has had three games out. He didn’t have the cohesion and quality but second half it was as if he dusted away the cobwebs and our right side looked very solid again.
“It was good to see Liam back on the pitch as well. He has played no Football and it was a big ask for him today, when he has only had one training session to prepare.
“We knew he was only going to have 50 to 60 minutes in him but it is nice to see that he has come back and we have got a win. He will only get fitter and stronger and then you will see what Liam is all about.
“We’re chopping and changing players a lot at the minute so that we can keep people fit. Ideally, you want to have a team that goes on a run without any changes but the problem we have had is that the bank holiday period was so hectic that simply we couldn’t go without changes.”
“We created some good stuff second half. It was just unfortunate because if we would have got the third goal then they never would have had three goals in them.
“When they pushed during the last then minutes it all gets a bit hairy but it is all about the result and it is just about getting back to winning ways.
On Tuesday evening, Halifax head across the border to Lancashire to face BBC Sport documentary stars Salford City at Moor Lane. Heath maintains that the glamour of the Class of 92 is nothing to fear in a game that can only be won on the pitch.
“We don’t pay any attention to the media side of Salford. The TV picks out the parts that they think the people want to watch. They are a great side and they work very hard.
“They will be top of the league and they have earned that right. It will be a good game and it is important that we get something out of it. It’s about time we went on a winning run ourselves.”
You can watch the full interview on Shaymen Player HD now!
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