"I think a draw was a fair result," says Town boss Millington after stalemate at Bromley

Town boss Chris Millington said a point apiece was a fair result after FC Halifax Town drew 1-1 at Bromley.
Chris Millington. Photo: Marcus BranstonChris Millington. Photo: Marcus Branston
Chris Millington. Photo: Marcus Branston

Michael Cheek put the hosts ahead before Jamie Cooke's third goal in three games levelled the scores in the second-half.

Asked if he though the result was fair, Millington said: "I think so, I think we had the better of the first-half and Bromley had the better of the second-half, so I think a draw was a fair result.

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"As often here, it took a good 15, 20 minutes to properly settle down and then once it did I thought we had some good spells of possession.

"We delivered some really good balls into the box, especially off the left, but there weren't enough bodies in there to attack them.

"Had we been a bit more effective in and around the box in terms of getting numbers forward in the first-half, we could well have gone in at half-time in the lead.

"We didn't do that, and then Bromley came out like you would expect, they weren't going to lie down and just let us control the second-half, they played much better second-half.

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"I was disappointed with the manner of the goal we conceded, I thought that was a bit too soft.

"But we did ever so well to get back into the game so quickly, and after that, for all the huffing and puffing, there wasn't any real clear-cut chances for either team."

The game represented a tiring end to a rigorous week for Town after Tuesday night's hard-fought win at Solihull.

"I'd take it back even further to last weekend, a long trip down to this part of the country to Ebbsfleet, going down to 10 men relatively early in the game, so we've expended an awful lot of energy in that, and had a long trip back home," Millington said.

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"I know Solihull isn't the end of the earth but it's still a long day leaving The Shay at 1pm and not getting back until well past midnight, and that's without mentioning the energy expended in the game.

"So two very tiring away games and then another long trip yesterday, and with a lot of the same players.

"And you can see with a lot of them, especially in the second-half, they've been weary, not quite as tight on the ball, not had the energy to get up and support the attacks, maybe I have to look at whether I should have made more changes.

"But we've just done ever so well against Solihull and it felt right to give the lads the opportunity to back it up."

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Millington was happy with what he saw from his side in the first-half before a more hard-working second 45.

"First-half there were some nice passages of possession," he said.

"We talk about staying in opposition halves when we lose possession, we did that exceptionally well, where we lost the ball high up the pitch but then regained it again in their half on four or five occasions, which was excellent.

"We could maybe have exploited those opportunities a bit more, but there were some really good passages of play in the first-half.

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"In the second-half, even though there was some serious fatigue among the group they were still resolute in what they tried to do to protect the point.

"The manner of the goal's frustrating. They'd unpicked us a couple of times down that side the same way and we need to be more switched on to squeeze up and squeeze in quicker when the ball moves backwards, and we didn't do that well enough.

"There's definitely things we'll take out of it and reflect on and make better, but on the whole we'll go home reasonably satisfied with the point."

Millington served a one-game touchline ban during the match, punishment for his sending-off against Oldham at The Shay.

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"The position I watched it from was great in terms of the vantage point, but the experience was horrific and not something I ever want to experience again," he added.

"Although we had a line of communication with the bench, you just feel powerless to really influence the game.

"Andy Cooper and Paul Oakes have done a fantastic job in managing the game and it's certainly no reflection on them, it's just the experience of watching and not really having an ability to influence the ebb and flow."

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