Guiseley 1-1 FC Halifax Town: Fullarton pleased by Town's resilience

Halifax faced a battling Guiseley side, blustery conditions and a bobbly surface and struggled to replicate their recent form with a below-par first-half display.

But they took control of the clash after Guiseley’s John Rooney was sent-off just before half-time, and eventually did enough to warrant a point.

“When I went into the dressing room at full-time my first question to the players was ‘how do you feel?’ and the fact they were disappointed to come away, from a derby game, with only a point I think speaks volumes,” Fullarton said.

“The conditions were very difficult and very different to what we’ve faced so far, so it’s about how you cope with such conditions as well as contrasting styles.

“We’re still unbeaten, it’s a point away from home, which in this league is always a good thing, but there’s an air of disappointment in the dressing room, which is a real positive.

“I think the only winner today was the conditions. It was very difficult for both sides with those elements, particularly how we’ve been playing and approaching games.

“When you get a point away from home it’s never a bad result.

“For me, it was a learning opportunity and in the face of adversity, we talk about resilience or standing up to the physicality, to go 1-0 down and come back gives an insight as to how we’re moving forward as a group.”

Fullarton wasn’t surprised by Guiseley’s no-frills approach, but was disappointed to concede from a set-piece following Kayode Odejayi’s opener.

“There were no surprises for us,” Fullarton said. “They showed a real physicality and played exactly how we expected them to.

“We control what we do and we’re disappointed that we allowed them to have so many set-pieces and to put it into our area and use their physicality, which has resulted in them getting the lead.

“When you have a lead it gives them something to hold onto.

“The amount of possession we had second-half was more blind pressure than in previous games, when we’ve been more purposeful with our possession.

“But they showed a great character and resilience, and at no point did I feel, even going 1-0 down, that we weren’t going to get something from the game.”

On Rooney’s sending-off, Fullarton said: “I’ve no idea what happened, and that’s not me side-stepping it. I’m not the type to side-step questions, but I didn’t see what happened.

“I saw what happened when he spoke to the fourth official, which if that was a reflection of what did happen, then I’m not surprised (he was sent-off).”

And on Tomlinson’s equaliser, Fullarton said: “I’d call that a long pass from the goalkeeper as opposed to route one!

“I think we’ve shown the way I want us to play since I’ve been here but you must also play to the conditions.

“Just before that Ben should have actually scored from 12 yards as opposed to a fantastic finish just after that.”