FC Halifax Town 5-2 Maidenhead United: Rodney and Redshaw’s partnership can only get better, says Wild

After Charlie Cooper’s first-half goal was cancelled out by Ryan Upward just before the interval, Town overpowered their opponents with goals from Rodney, Redshaw and substitutes Jamie Allen and Michael Duckworth.

“I thought we started well but it was just getting that first goal,” Wild said.

“We made some good early chances, but I’ve been watching Maidenhead, and they’re decent, especially away from home, and I thought they put us under a lot of pressure, especially their two wide boys, they were strong and quick.

“They got after us, which is what I expected. We got the first goal, but it was a silly foul to give away just on half-time, and it gave them something to hold onto.

“It knocked us a bit, and the first 15 minutes of the second-half we looked flat, we just needed a spark.

“The goal came out of nothing really, but I knew if we could get a second, we’d push on and I was really pleased we pushed on from there.”

When asked what pleased him most about the performance, Wild said: “The way we got amongst them, got around them and were determined not to get beaten, and take it to them instead of letting things happen.

“I thought you saw that in abundance today, a real hunger.

“There’s been that in training this week, a real snappiness and wanting to do well.

“That’s really pleased me because if I come off the training ground and see that on a Friday I always think we’ve got a chance on the Saturday.”

On the partnership between Rodney and Redshaw, Wild said: “That can only get better. I’ve got four top strikers at this club, and I need to use them appropriately, in the right games at the right times, and I will.

“But if we can start to pair up and get little partnerships together then that will only bode well for the team.

“Tobi (Sho-Silva) can feel very hard done by because he scored last week and did really well, but I’ve just got to play it how I see it each week.

“But they (Rodney and Redshaw) need to give us more out of possession, and that’s what I’ll be telling them on Tuesday.
“That’s why I brought Jamie and Tobi on, and I thought they gave us more doggedness and hard work.”

When asked what Rodney will bring to the side, Wild said: “He’s strong, quick, direct, he’ll face people up and run at them, especially at The Shay, it’s a big pitch and we can use his pace to our advantage.

“He’ll only get better by playing. He’s played on the right for Stockport all season, so it’ll take him a couple of weeks to get him back into that central mode.”

Town have now won three and drawn two of their last five games since their 5-1 defeat at Stockport on Boxing Day.

“I think the formation’s helped, we’ve got more players in their box and more players in our box,” Wild said.

“I have a phrase ‘dominate both boxes’ and if you do that you generally win football matches.

“In the last few weeks we’ve dominated both boxes and that’s why we’re doing well at the moment.

“That’s snapiness, that hunger is back in abundance, and it bodes well for the run in.

“We’ve just got to keep going, we’ve not cracked it by any means, we’ve got to take each game as it comes, and go to Chorley with the right mentality because that will be a dog-fight next week.”