Eastleigh 0-0 FC Halifax Town: We had the two best chances, says Fullarton

The result moved Halifax up to 17th in the National League, with The Shaymen five points clear of the drop zone, but having played one game more.

Fullarton said the point, and the team’s second clean sheet in-a-row, will build confidence and belief in the players in what he is asking of them.

“If I’m unhappy with the players’ attitude and application, I’m not going to insult the fans’ intelligence by making excuses,” he said.

“That’s the minimum requirement. There are certain areas where we can do better and we will do better.

“But their intention to implement what I’m asking was there, which was a real positive.

“The goalposts haven’t moved. We need a certain amount of points to maintain our league status, but we’ve got one less game to do it.

“One thing I can assure you of is that we’re going to try and win every game. If it means we get a point then we take that.”

Fullarton has been delighted with the effort and work-rate of his side since coming into the club.

“The first thing you’ve got to do is limit opportunities,” Fullarton said. “You start with a 0-0 and that’s the minimum I expect us to come away with. When you’re given something, you keep it.

“I think it’s great credit to the players. The constant thread through what I say, and I won’t apologise for repeating myself, is attitude and application. And in the two games I’ve been involved in they’ve showed it in abundance.

“Having had some time with them on the training field, their understanding of what was being asked of them and their intention to implement it contributed to us always being in the game, under some severe physical pressure from direct play.

“I thought we stood up to that very well, which enabled us to then have the two best chances of the game.”

Fullarton believed Town got better as the game went on, with Matty Kosylo and Mike Fondop-Talom both both having second-half efforts kept out.

“If you look at how games pan out away from home, a key phrase is ‘stay in the game’,” Fullarton said.

“You play from your shape and as it opens up, which it did in the second-half, be in a position to, with a bit of quality, create chances and excite the fans.”

Despite the positives, Fullarton said there were things for his team to work on too.

“The pitch in certain areas was firm while other areas were soft, which made it rather fiery,” he said.

“Moving forward we’d expect to keep the ball a bit better in the middle third. With that, our understanding of how we’re going to play and take a bit more responsibility in certain areas.

“But we had the two best chances of the game, as opposed to blind pressure from the home side, who were frustrated by our shape and couldn’t break us down or expose us. That was a really pleasing aspect.”