Michael Duckworth says he is back to full fitness and feels good despite the score line following Halifax Town’s disappointing 3-0 defeat to Bromley on Saturday.
A poor second half collapse in which Bromley scored three goals in ten minutes saw Duckworth suffer defeat on his return to the first team, following a recurring ankle injury.
The full back hadn’t featured for Billy Heath’s side since Dover back in December and believes he is only a handful of games away from being back to his best.
‘I’m fit I feel fine. I just obviously need that match sharpness.’
‘It’s my first game since Dover and before that in four months or five months so it’ll take me two or three games before I’m back to match sharpness.’
Despite the result, Duckworth looked solid and put in a good performance against a difficult Bromley side which showed their attacking prowess in the second half and the defender believes his side lost focus in the second half.
‘A game of two halves really wasn’t it. First half I thought we matched them well, we always knew they were going to be a passing team, good movement, all around the pitch and the two wide boys basically had a free role to come inside.’
‘We got in at half time and just said let’s keep it tight and we came out second half and we just had a mad ten minutes where things weren’t going for us, we lost our concentration and then next thing you know it’s game over.’
A tough result for the squad to take considering how well they held their own in the first 45 minutes however Duckworth was delighted to get 90 minutes back under his belt once again.
‘Yeah, it’s nice, it’s been far too long. I picked up a little set back with my ankle basically through no fault of my own but yeah it’s just nice to be back out there.’
‘It feels good.’
Bromley were always going to pose difficult opposition however these games are always a lot more difficult without good fortune on your side.
The home side’s third goal came in bizarre fashion, with the referee declaring the ball crossed the line following a frantic period in the box, much to the bemusement of the Halifax players.
Regardless of the many protests, the goal was awarded, and Duckworth has revealed even he wasn’t too sure what happened.
‘I thought the linesman was going to give offside for the first cross, then a few of us stopped and Sam made a save and then it looked like it hit the post and then next thing he awarded a goal’
‘It just went a hundred miles an hour, so I don’t even know myself really.’
‘It just happened so fast, I didn’t even know what was happening.’
The squad will be turning their attention to the Tuesday fixture against Leyton Orient now and looking to get back to winning ways.
A must win game for the Shaymen and Duckworth is in no doubts about the importance of this fixture.
‘It’s massive, to be fair it’s probably the biggest game of our season on Tuesday, they’re in and around us so three points is massive for us.’
‘Hopefully it can kick start us on a bit, because the last two games obviously it’s not been good enough so hopefully we can put things right on Tuesday.’
To watch the full interview, or for more post-match reaction from the defeat to Bromley, with interviews with manager Billy Heath and new signing Shaun Tuton, head on over to Shaymen TV.
Read more posts by FC Halifax Town
;
