"Clearly there's a problem playing at The Shay and we've got to fix it," says Millington after Shaymen crash out of FA Cup against Marine

Ex-Halifax midfielder Louis White's first-half goal condemned The Shaymen to another miserable home appearance, meaning it's still just one win on their own patch in eight matches this season.

"We were really poor first-half, individually and collectively, there was no shining light came out of that first-half," Millington told the Courier.

"And we're at a loss as to why that is, we prepared the same way as we always prepare, we tried to guard the players against complacency or arrogance.

"I thought we looked edgy and nervy, couldn't get the ball down and play.

"We know Marine are a good side and that they're in a rich vein of form but we still should have had more and should have had the ability to control play better and we didn't.

"I think there were varying degrees of poor performance in an individual sense but no-one who came out of the first-half with any credit.

It was at least an improved second-half showing from Town.

"It had to be, it couldn't be any worse," Millington said. "The first-half was the worst half of football we've had this season, it was terrible, so it couldn't get any worse could it.

"It was better, we controlled the game, we were in their half the whole time but we've still not come away with anything.

"The tact we've had to make two enforced changes due to injuries hasn't helped because we've been limited to what we can change tactically.

"But we should have had more and we should have done better."

Marine deserved their win, but Millington said they produced nothing that Halifax did not expect.

"We know exactly what they've been doing, knocked out Spennymoor in the last round who are flying high in the next league up, they're the only team to beat Radcliffe, who look like they'll be champions in their league," he said.

"There was no secrets, no surprise, we knew how good they were going to be.

"It's on us, the first-half performance, on our players and their inability to get themselves going in the first-half, it was really poor.

"There's no excuses, no hiding from them."

On his team's second-half efforts to stay in the cup, a frustrated Millington said: "We've had a fantastic ball across the box from Max Wright early in the second-half which has whizzed across their box from two yards out and not managed to get anything on it.

"Then we've had Flo Hoti, who's got his feet in a tangle eight yards out, and I'd back Flo nine times out of ten to just very casually pass that into the goal and he's not managed to do it.

"Jack Evans has worked their keeper towards the end

"Kane Thomson-Sommers has had three shots, two of them wild, one of them a fairly comfortable save for the keeper but at least on target.

"We've had lots of possession in their box, we've had set-pieces, Adam Senior's headed one back across goal, which we work on, but no-one's followed it up and finished it off.

"We've had other set-pieces where we've made first contact but not worked the keeper, so we can't bemoan our creativity and opportunities second-half but we've only ourselves to blame for not finishing them off."

The result leaves a frustrated home fan base now exasperated at their team's inability to produce performances or results at The Shay.

"There's a few questions we've got to answer at the minute. One of them's home form, we're like a Jekyll and Hyde team," Millington said.

"The fans who follow us away I'm sure will testify to the fact that we look like a really top National League team away from home.

"But at home we look really nervy and edgy, I don't know why that is and we need to fix that.

"If we're going to do anything in the league this season we've got to do better at home.

"We had a fantastic cup run last year, culminating in the FA Trophy win at Wembley.

"Is it coincidence all those games happened away? I don't know, but clearly there's a problem playing at The Shay and we've got to fix it because no-one else is going to do it for us."

The Town boss said Tylor Golden was taken off due to a knee injury but it's not known how serious it is.

Millington also confirmed Luke Summerfield has picked up an injury as well.

"They're blows when you can't make tactical substitutions," he said.

Millington made four changes from the win at Ebbsfleet, one of which was Milli Alli coming out of the side.

"Predominantly the changes were to give us a more attacking set-up and get us another body high-up the pitch, be more front-footed at home," he said.

"As of Friday morning, before training, Milli was in the starting 11 but for reasons I won't go into he then had to be pulled out of the team.

"There's things Milli's got to learn if he's going to be a successful professional footballer.

"That isn't the reason we lost but it's certainly something that was avoidable and had it been avoided, it could have helped us win the game."

When asked how morale was in the dressing room after the match, Millington said: "Very low. There's no excuses, there's no-one we can point the finger at, we've got to look in the mirror and figure out how we can be better at home.

"We're a good team but we lurch from being on the fringe of a really successful National League with two very credible away wins to the first-half performance against Marne, which then gives the whole stadium the sense we're in some sort of crisis.

"We're not in any crisis, we're actually in a really healthy position in the league, but what we have a habit of doing is turning out halves of football at home which aren't good enough and aren't acceptable."