Billy Heath has described this afternoonβs defeat to Gloucester City as βone of those daysβ as Halifax dropped out of the playoff places.
Joe Hanksβ second half penalty proved the decisive blow for a Gloucester side now five points behind the Shaymen, who slip to 7thΒ despite dominating large periods of the game.
βItβs disappointing because we had enough chances in the first half to win two games,β said the Shaymen boss.
βWe were unlucky again in the second half and you could sense it was going to be one of those days.
βWe manufactured our own downfall in the end. It was a short back-pass and was a penalty. Weβre all disappointed.β
Chances came frequently for a Halifax side who Heath feels could have gone on to win comfortably if they had found an opening goal.
βIf weβd scored one, I think we could have got one or two more, but it was not to be.
βWe used the wide players a lot, got the ball into Jordan Sinnott a lot of the time, everything looked good and you sensed we were just waiting for that first goal, but it never came.β
Halifax were reduced to ten men late in the game after Matty Brown injured his hamstring, but Heath credits the way his team rallied to try and level the scores, ultimately disappointed by the result.
βWe had a couple cleared off the line, we put good pressure on them with ten, but at the end of the day itβs about the result.
βWe got some good balls into Tom Denton, Sinnott and Kevin [Roberts] had chances as well; you expect the net to bulge but itβs not quite happening for us at the minute.β
Another player who had an early chance to score with a header was Fleetwood loanee Dion Charles, who made a 64-minute debut in the defeat after signing yesterday until the end of the season. Heath maintained he was confident of what the forward could do despite him having not yet trained with the squad.
βItβs just one of those things, really β it was disappointing losing Richard Peniket as he had been playing ever so well, but Dion played well. He picked up the pace of the league.
βDion has good ability in and around the box, an eye for goal, he gets past players and he links things well.
βHeβs a good athlete and can hopefully give us another option.
Asked about the penalty decision, Heath holds no blame against the referee and claims it was just a frustrating and unlucky incident, which summed up the whole match.
βSam [Johnson] has a decision to make there and unfortunately he clips the lad and itβs a penalty. It was harsh not to come away with anything but itβs just one of those days where you donβt get what you deserve.
βWe have to pick ourselves up on Tuesday and try and get the next three points. Weβre fighting for our lives for those playoffs and thereβs still plenty to play for.β
Heath has kept his cards close to his chest regarding potential transfer dealings in the coming days after admitting he is working with a small squad.
βWeβll see what we can do. Losing Josh [Wilde] and Matty Brown makes a small squad even smaller, so weβll see what happens.β
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