Neil Aspin saw his "excellent" side succumb to another late and dramatic equaliser at Wakefield but insisted: "If we play like that then we will win games!" FC Halifax should've been out of sight before Wes Milnes looped in a header with seconds remaining. But although the two dropped points frustrated Aspin, the performance led him to praise each and every single one of his players. After the 1-1 draw, the Manager told the Official Website:

"You're always disappointed to drop points but I have to say that the players were excellent today. They played great football, they competed well, they switched the play, they held a good line, they passed the ball, they got good crosses into the box and they created chances. They've done everything that I could've asked for apart from getting more goals which the players deserved. I am disappointed and it is frustrating but the level of performance was good and if we can play like that over the remainder of the season, we're halfway through now, then we'll be fine."

Town created enough chances to win four games at College Grove and Aspin's only gripe was that his side didn't kill Wakefield off. He said:

"We have made a lot of chances lately. If you're not creating chances then that's a worry. But I know as a defender that if you don't take your chances then something can happen at the death and that's what has happened over the last two games. We haven't put the teams away which is frustrating. I said it after the last game, you need to get in front, put the game away and if we do then make a mistake it doesn't cost us. I've got no complaints apart from the fact that we should've killed them off."

On Tuesday night The Shaymen were 3-2 up against Mossley before the 'home' side stole a point with the last kick of the game. They say lightning never strikes twice but it was another agonisingly late, and avoidable, equaliser which denied them two extra points at Wakefield. A frustrated Aspin revealed:

"We always said it, you could tell by the game, the only way that they were going to score was from a set-piece. But they didn't have many in the game. We held a good line and we didn't give away many stupid free kicks. But that was the only way that they were going to score. They're the biggest team that I've ever come across, even in my football playing career. They were massive height wise, but footballing wise we played them off the park."

Of the opportunities that Town created and then spurned, Scott Phelan created two for himself but his delightful duo of efforts from distance both, unluckily, crashed onto the woodwork. Referring to the mesmerising strikes, Aspin said:

"He's not going to hit two better strikes all season. They were absolutely brilliant but he was unfortunate to hit the bar with them both. In football sometimes you need the luck. But playing like we did today we shouldn't be relying on any luck because it was such a good performance."

Phelan was joined in the centre of midfield by Tom Baker and Harry Winter in a new-look 4-3-3 formation, and their Manager thought they all worked efficiently and effectively together.

"They are obviously three good players and I wanted to get them all into the team," Aspin said. "They've never played together before today but I thought that they all blended in well and they dominated from the centre of midfield."

Despite dropping points over the past two games, Aspin is still thoroughly upbeat, especially as top of the league Lancaster lost at home to Garforth. Aspin said:

"We expected Lancaster to win today but they lost, so we've gained a point. You can look at football in different ways and from different angles. You can always look at things positively and I've got to be positive as Manager. If the players keep giving it everything then we will be alright and we'll pick up a lot of points over the next 21 games."

But Town's next game on the fixture list is a long midweek trip to UniBond Premier side Boston in the UniBond League Challenge Cup on Tuesday. And although no doubt the mentality of the Manager and the side that represents FC Halifax will be to win the game, Aspin is primarily focused on the next 21 league games. He said:

"Tuesday is a chance for some players who haven't had a game for a couple of weeks to get a game. I'd like the game out of the way as I want to concentrate on the league and play these 21 league games. They're going to come thick and fast. We need to be positive and to keep playing like we did today. I know that if we keep playing like that then we'll win games. It's certainly going to be an interesting second half of the season."

Adam Cheshire