FC Halifax Town: We showed tremendous character, says Harvey after vital win

Shaquille McDonald’s 70th minute winner ended a seven-hour goal drought for Halifax and means they will now guarantee survival if they beat Macclesfield at The Shay on Saturday.

Harvey said: “The pressure was on, it was a must-win game so we could keep the season ticking over in our favour, and again the boys have shown tremendous character.

“That’s their main quality and it’s been evident again today.

“To come down to Forest Green and turn them over and get a win when we needed to is absolutely fantastic.

“The boys deserve all the credit.”

The Town boss admitted he feared his side may draw another blank when they spurned some decent chances before McDonald’s goal, but felt they merited the win.

He said: “I felt we created two or three really good opportunities in the first-half and it didn’t quite fall for us, people were getting blocks and you think ‘here we go again’.

“We had a couple of chances in the second-half, one fell to Jordan (Burrow) but he screwed it wide after Connor (Hughes) had a shot blocked, and you wondered where it would come from.

“Then Danny (Hattersley) knocks the ball into Shaq (McDonald) who is always lively in the box and he’s pinched the winner for us, which I think was thoroughly deserved.

“We had a large portion of the game and everybody put a really good shift in, even though we had Hamza (Bencherif) go off.

“They were brilliant today.”

Town will ensure safety if they beat ninth-placed Macclesfield at the weekend, or if they match or better Guiseley’s result against Torquay and Altrincham don’t win at Braintree.

“It’s all in front of us now, we’re at home and it’s in our hands,” said Harvey.

“Hopefully the town will come out now and encourage the boys to put a performance in.

“When I took over here, we were dead and buried. The boys have put an absolutely enormous effort into this.

“At home I know they’re going to go for 90 minutes.

“All I wanted was for them to get that opportunity in their hands so we’re delighted with that.”

Richard Peniket and Hamza Bencherif were both forced off injured during the game, and Harvey now faces an anxious wait to see who will be available for the final game of the campaign.

He added: “Richard got a bang in the face so he was concussed so we’ll have to see how he is.

“I wouldn’t think Hamza will necessarily be out for the rest of the season but his groin wasn’t quite right.

“It was OK but not good enough to get through so we’ll have to see how that settles down.

“With a bit of luck, Browny (Matty Brown) will be back at the weekend if he can get into that back four with the way they’re playing.”