FC Halifax Town boss Billy Heath has looked disappointedly on Tuesday night’s defeat at the hands of Matlock Town but has rallied his players ahead of a crucial FA Cup Second Round clash at Eastleigh.
The Shaymen visit the Silverlake Stadium to face the big-spending Hampshire side who are currently pushing to become a league outfit.
Heath had this to say…
“We only played for about 15 minutes in a good spell against Matlock – which was when we scored our two goals to peg them back.
“We have to get out of this spell of low confidence very quickly, and we need to be strong and brave.
“It hurts when you’ve been beaten, no matter what competition it’s in – despite the league being our priority.”
Heath looks back fondly on the First Round in which the lads knocked out National league side Dagenham & Redbridge via a replay, with a late Matt Kosylo goal.
“Matt Kosylo comes up with a few goals, I’ve been impressed with him. Dents [Tom Denton] was unplayable against Dagenham as well.
“In fact, we should have been about two or three to the good in the first 25 minutes, I think.
“The atmosphere was great too – the fans never stopped singing.”
Despite Eastleigh’s remarkable 3-1 win in the previous round against League One Swindon Town on their own patch, Heath remains confident that his team can bounce back and claim a shock result to be in the hat, to potentially face a Premier League or Championship club.
“We’re happy to be going to Eastleigh – we need to step up and be strong now.”
Nathan Hotte is a doubt after coming off in the first half against Matlock, with Kevin Roberts in contention to return. Steven Drench could retain his place in goal.
Updates of the game will be available via Twitter, Shaymen Player HD and the Shaymen Wall.
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