Curzon Ashton 4-2 FC Halifax Town: Our defending was woeful, blasts Heath

The Shaymen produced arguably their worst performance of the season and conceded four goals in a game for the first time under Heath.

Niall Cummins, who was later sent-off along with Alex Brown and Jamie Stott, Adam Morgan (2) and Joe Guest scored for Curzon, with Cliff Moyo and a Connor Hampson own goal the only bright spots for Town.

Heath said: “We were poor from start to finish. It was a far cry from Tuesday - everything we had on Tuesday we didn’t have today.

“At the start of the game we were way off, second-best, and it’s very difficult to recover.

“We find ourselves 2-0 down at half-time and the whole team were just a long way away from where we were on Tuesday.

“Even when they went down to 10, then nine, we just didn’t play well. Our passing was poor, our choices were poor, the energy levels were poor.

Heath said he could take no positives from the game, and blasted his side’s defensive display.

He said: “(Steve) Drenchy has made two unbelievable saves and then who is first to react?

“That was the running theme of the game - when things were bouncing and balls were there, we were second best all over the pitch.

“Straight after half-time we make it 2-1 so we have some impetus, and then once again defensively we were just woeful.

“The first and second goals were poor but the third and fourth were just so poor it was frightening.

“The third one’s bad enough but the fourth - we lost all shape. We panicked a bit trying to get back in the game but there’s no excuses, we were very poor.”

Heath was angry at his team’s inability to make their numerical advantage count, and felt his side got worse as the game went on.

He added: “I didn’t see the first one, I don’t know what went on.

“Obviously the lad’s dived for the second one.

“Then obviously there’s a skirmish and the referee’s seen something.

“If he’s seen something and it’s violent conduct then the lad has to go.

“My biggest disappointment is when they had the players sent-off we didn’t manipulate the football, our quality on the ball was so poor.

“We should be able to take advantage, drag them about and stretch the pitch, and we didn’t.

“We passed it when we should have gone on, we dribbled with it when we should have passed it.

“When the players got sent-off, our choices got worse.”