Following FC Halifax Town’s 1-0 win over Boreham Wood, assistant manager Andy Cooper spoke to Shaymen TV.
“We’re really pleased with that,” Cooper said. “We knew how Boreham Wood would set up, how they would play and we knew what a threat they could be. They were very quick, as soon as we lost the ball to get it in and up to our defence. They put in lots of long balls and were very physical. So, the way we played in the first ten to fifteen minutes and how we grew into the game was great. Then, some good passages of play to get in behind and get some crosses in and we created some opportunities. We knew it was going to be tough in the second half and we knew they would throw more bodies forward. So, for us to come out with a victory like that and put in a really good team performance was great. There were a couple of hairy moments towards the end, but the way we managed it, we needed everyone out of possession right throughout the team to work and graft to try and win the ball back. Then to get it up the pitch, some of the passages of play were really decent. All in all, a great win, great to get three points at home and keep a clean sheet and keep the momentum going is fantastic. Obviously, we need to dust ourselves down in terms of bodies, recovery, getting going, and making sure we can back it up on Tuesday with another home game.”
Town were only able to name 15 players for the match day squad due to the number of injuries throughout the team, Cooper though was delighted with the team performance despite limited numbers available.
“To a man, everyone stood up to the tactics and the game plan we had tonight,” Cooper told Shaymen TV. “Even though there was an onslaught of tackles and the physical nature of the game, we rode it well and I thought we were able to adapt, even with players not being able to continue. We changed a little bit in terms of personnel, but we were still able to manage the game and see it out which is really pleasing. Not just defensively, but we did look a threat going forward, especially on the counter attack when we won the ball back. We were able to break lines, get into wide areas and put crosses in. We just weren’t clinical enough in the first half with some of the deliveries, but we made them pay in the end. We just need to recover, rest and make sure we can get bodies back.”
Rob Harker bagged the only goal of the game to give the Shaymen all three points after he capitalised on a goalkeeping mistake.
“Rob has done great tonight,” Cooper said. “We knew he’d have a lot work to do tonight with the kind of system that we’d be playing. So he’d have to work across that back line of the opposition and get right at them. It was key for him, as soon as we got the ball back, to be a threat. He won a lot of his aerial duals, when they tried to play long he pressed them and spoiled some of the quality of their direct play. Then to cap it off and be there at the right time to poke it home is great.”
Up next for the Shaymen sees Dorking Wanderers visit the Shay for the third attempt at playing this fixture on Tuesday night.
“It’s a game we’ve already prepped for twice now,” Cooper joked. “We’ve not managed to get through it yet. But we’ll be straight onto it tomorrow to review this game and tidy up and make sure we get our preparation done for Dorking. We’ll watch them again, I know they’ve made a couple of signings in the last week, so we’ll make sure all our prep is done. It’ll be second day of recovery on Monday and we’ll include some tactical stuff for the game on Tuesday. But, we’ll be bang at it again . We’re really pleased with the form at the moment, especially at home at the moment, as well as how we’ve been playing. Looking ahead to Tuesday, we’ll be right up for it again and hopefully we can get another performance and one that warrants the three points like today.”
Watch the full interview on Shaymen TV.
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