FC Halifax Town midfielder Danny Clarke will have enjoyed a sigh of relief as he left the Horsfall Stadium following his side’s resounding 3-1 victory over Vanarama National League North strugglers Bradford Park Avenue.
The former North Ferriby United star told Shaymen Player HD of his loss of confidence after joining a club like Halifax and receiving a level of criticism from the fans.
Clarke revealed that following his move to the MBi Shay Stadium he was played out of position by manager Billy Heath but was delighted to excel in a more natural wide position at Avenue.
“Obviously when I came in I was playing in the middle of midfield in a role that I haven’t really played before sat back” Clarke said.
The manager [Heath] took me out of the team, we worked on playing back in the position that I’m used to which is out wide, and obviously the last few games I’ve got back into it so I’m really happy.”
Town will have been disappointed with their first half performance and the way the side went 1-0 down, courtesy of a sublime finish from forward Oli Johnson.
Clarke, who gave Avenue captain Ryan Toulson a tough afternoon, called for Halifax to try and put their best foot forward in games where they concede first.
“They got that first goal, which was hard, but I thought in recent times we’ve sat back instead of going forward when we’re a goal down so it was good to get the momentum.
It wasn’t that we did anything wrong in the first half, it’s just more we need to believe in ourselves and work harder.”
Paying special mention to the Shaymen fans who turned out in numbers for the West Yorkshire derby, Clarke smiled as he said: “It must have been a nice feeling to score today with the way the fans were, it was a great feeling.”
Solely focused on securing promotion with Town, Clarke called for the fans to stick with Heath and his players as they flooded the BFC main stand: “I came to a team that was getting booed a lot but obviously, we’re all trying to achieve the same things and that’s getting back into that league.
“We’ve just got to keep snatching those wins ‘cos the games are going to be tough. All we can do is grind those results out.”
You can find full match highlights and reaction from our 3-1 victory at Bradford Park Avenue on Shaymen Player HD, as well as build-up to the visit of Gloucester City at www.fcht.co.uk.
Town will face the Tigers at the MBi Shay on Saturday 18th of March, with the game due to kick off at 15:00 pm.
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