Josh Wilson put the past behind him as he rounded off FC Halifax Town’s 5-1 victory against Salisbury City last night.
The attacking midfielder saw red in the reverse fixture between these two sides, but made amends by adding the fifth goal to Halifax’s already impressive tally against Mikey Harris’ side.
For Wilson, the result was perfect for him and his team mates to bounce back from their 3-1 defeat at the hands of Lincoln last weekend.
He said: “I certainly owed them one, after the away tie. I was happy with the win, happy to get on the score sheet, but overall, I was happy with the performance, to get the three points and to bounce back after Saturday.
“We are finding it hard on the road for some reason, but after coming off the back of a tough 3-1 defeat, that is the way to respond, a 5-1 win at home. We have just got to keep trying. Our away form just needs to be improved, if we did, you look at the table, we would have a great chance of being in the play-offs. We are a new side, and a new set of lads together and hopefully in time it will come.”
Halifax took the lead in only the third minute against Salisbury. A well worked team effort from Ryan Challinor, Scott Mcmanus and Lee Gregory allowed the striker to notch the first of his hat-trick and put Halifax in the driving seat. For Wilson, it was important for Halifax to take the lead, with the man of the moment, Gregory, continuing to shine as he has done all season.
“An early goal always takes the pressure off. The away team have to come out and play, and to be fair, I think that Salisbury knocked it about brilliantly tonight. There is no shock there, they are in the top half of the table also. Greggs (Gregory) is a natural goalscorer and what a person to have in your team. I have said it countless of times this season, and I will say it again. A credit to him on his hat-trick as well.”
The former Mansfield striker clinched his third of the night from the penalty spot, a goal which could be described as lucky, after bouncing off the Salisbury goalkeeper and spinning across the line. Wilson was delighted to see the ball eventually cross the line, although admitted that the star striker felt slightly daunted as he stepped up to add Halifax’s fourth goal of the night.
He said: “I was thinking that I wanted it, but he (Gregory) said that he wanted it for his hat-trick. I have been chatting to him in the showers and he said ‘when I got up there and stood, and saw the state of the penalty spot, with the conditions, and thought where should I stick this one?’ but he has just tried to hit it hard and low. Sometimes that happens when the luck is going for you, and with the goals, we’ve seen what happens, he gets a bit of luck and that is his hat-trick today. Well done.”
With the score at 4-1 and the game reaching it’s closing stages, the evening worsened for the visitors after going down to 10 men. Theo Lewis was given his marching orders after bringing down Ryan Crowther inches away from 18 yard box. The attacker had left the defender in his shadow, but was eventually brought down to the ground. Although with the game effectively over, Wilson believes that the sending off did not make any difference to the game.
“They carried on playing. You see this style of play now coming into English football, you don’t necessarily see it at this level. I’m talking about the Premier League but fair play to Salisbury, they still got the ball down, they looked to play the right way and unfortunately they didn’t get back in the game. Fortunately for us, the game was over by the red card, it was just a matter of seeing it out.”
Midway through the second half, it looked as if the former Guiseley attacker was to be swapped for Craig Clay, only for a last second decision for Lois Maynard to be replaced instead. At this point Wilson had been feeling a slight discomfort, but played on to eventually finish Halifax’s rout.
“I was meant to be coming off after about an hour, sixty-five minutes in. I got a knock in my back after around twenty-five minutes in, but Lois was struggling worse off than me. I did walk off to be substituted, but Lois said to the gaffer (Aspin) that he is worse off, so he asked me if I could stay on. Yeah I wanted to stay on, well I didn’t really want to stay on, I didn’t really have a choice, but I am glad that I did stay on now and went up and got my goal.”
The result leaves Halifax sitting seventh in the league table, two points behind the Play-off positions. The three points allowed Aspin and his men to creep even further towards their points target for the season, which now stands at two less than 50. Promotion is not something that the team are aiming for, but Wilson remains adamant that anything can be achieved.
“It just keeps the season going. No one thought at the start of the season that we would be in this position. Put a message to the fans and say that the Play-Offs are still a possibility. You look at the table, we just have got to keep winning games at home and try and improve our away form and hope that teams around us slip up. The season is not over, we have still got around two or three months left. It makes it exciting for us, and even more exciting for the fans.”
Next Thursday, Halifax will make the short trip to the Deva Stadium in Wales, where they will face Chester FC in front of the BT cameras. National television beckons for Wilson and his team mates, in a fixture against the Blues that the midfield maestro is relishing. Furthermore, the squad are set to face a hard earned rest, with a game not scheduled for eight days.
“Maybe a bit of a break, because we have played a lot of games, especially in bad conditions and some muddy pitches. The lads will deserve the rest. On the flip side, you do like the game to come where you can mount up some points, but the rest will come in good time at this occasion for us.”
He added: “I hope it is not the same as the last time that we were on the television. Chester is a great ground, it is a great club at this level. It is going to be a great atmosphere. I played against them last year and I am looking forward to that one, being from the north-west myself. I will be looking forward to playing them.”
Watch his full interview only on Shaymen Player now.
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