FC Halifax Town Manager Neil Aspin had never seen his side record two consecutive competitive defeats during his time at The Shay and that record never seemed in doubt as his players bounced back in emphatic style from the Prescot Cables defeat at the weekend to triumph 3-0 over AFC Fylde on Tuesday.

After the game a relieved Aspin told the Official Website:

"It was a good response. I felt from the first whistle that we created a lot of chances and passed the ball well. It was a good performance and it was a performance that we needed because even though we've had a good run, whenever you lose a game like we did on Saturday, there becomes a little bit of pressure so you want a response, and the players did that."

Aspin's men have a 100% league record at home and as soon as Steve Payne grabbed a deserved opening goal, there was only going to be one team collecting the three precious points. He revealed:

"We've always looked like winning games at home but tonight was more comfortable because right from the start we made some really good chances. We looked lively and we always looked a threat. That was the difference tonight. Teams have made it difficult in some of the home games but I could only see one winner tonight. I know that Fylde can produce results, they've got some good players and they can be difficult opponents but once we got the first goal there was only going to be one team that would win the game."

Town, in contrast to Saturday, created a host of chances, but were denied persistently by Fylde's goalkeeper Dave Stevenson. And the only thing that slightly niggled Aspin was the fact that the Shaymen only scored three times. He said:

"That's the only thing you can say after the game: 'We should've scored more goals.' The first goal took a while to come and we did miss a lot of chances before that first goal, but their keeper kept them in it and it was a long time before we managed to get one past him. I expect opposition goalkeepers to have to work against us. That's why I was disappointed on Saturday because we didn't trouble him enough. Tonight was different, we put them under pressure and that's what I expected. But I would've settled for 3-0 before the game, so I'm happy."

On Steve Payne's goalkeeping exploits, which took him to seven for the season, Aspin beamed:

"Steve Payne is the best finisher at the Club! We want the chances to fall to him because he keeps sticking them away and every time he goes into the box he seems to attract the ball and it's a fabulous return for a centre-half."

The experienced centre-half also captained the side after Ryan Crossley was sidelined due to a back injury. And Shay Chief Aspin acknowledges it is a loss but is hopeful the Club Captain and inspirational leader can return for the 'big game' away at Skelmersdale on Saturday. He said:

"Ryan is a good captain for the Club, he's a local lad, a good leader and he's good around the dressing room, so it is a miss. Back injuries are difficult to assess at times so we need to see how he responds. You can wake up one morning and it can feel a lot better, but we'll just have to wait and see in the build-up to the big game on Saturday against a team who are in form in the league."

Adam Cheshire