Nathan Haslam was appointed manager on Tuesday and after his first game in charge spoke enthusiastically about the team’s performance in the 2-2 draw at Shildon. “I’m happy with that result after going a goal down after just five minutes and then 2-0 against the run of play. At 2-0 down at half time you’ll always take a point, but to be fair in the second half I think we totally dominated the game. I know we were playing against ten men but I’ve played in that situation and they make it hard because they sit back and defend. I’m happy to get a point but looking back I think perhaps we should have had all three. The lads have instilled some belief in themselves, basically it’s about confidence and expressing yourself and they did that second half so I’m proud of them.”
The manager was pleased with the whole squad but picked out several players whose performances caught the eye. “Kieran when he came on I really liked him. He was good in training; he’s a young kid and has done well. I was really impressed with Ryan (Redford) and Dan Wright. I could soon see that Dan makes good football decisions. People don’t always see what he actually does; he sees second and third passes and I think he could be a key player as we go forward. Ryan put a real shift in, I think everybody did to be honest so there were real positives. Andrei took his goal really well, that’s the one chance he’s had and he scored from it that’s what we’re looking for.”
Craig McFarlane missed out through injury and Haslam admitted it was a disappointment not to have the experienced defender in the line up. “Macca missing was a massive blow but we’ve got to look at the bigger picture. He could have maybe played today but it wasn’t worth risking him and hopefully he’ll be available for Tuesday.
“Yes, it was a tough pitch to play on but we played some outstanding stuff today. The players all know they’ve put a shift in and they’re really tired. I’m really happy and can’t wait for Tuesday night!”
