"I'm just so proud of the effort and the performance," says Lakeland after Town's win at Rochdale

Two goals by Josh Hmami meant Halifax were the first team to take any points from the Crown Oil Arena this season, and moved up to sixth in the table after their fourth successive win.

"I'm absolutely chuffed to bits, I thought tactically we were absolutely brilliant," Lakeland said.

"I said the other day all we can do as staff is give the players the information and it's up to them to go and execute it.

"I thought we restricted what is a very good team at an incredibly difficult place to come, to very few clear-cut chances.

"They had a good chance in the first-half at 0-0 where the lad shot straight at Johnno, and then Johnno made a big save with his feet second-half at 2-1.

"They've probably had another couple of efforts they'd expect to do better with.

"But I've said to the players, if yoiu work hard and apply yourself every day, when you need that bit of luck, more often than not, it's on your side.

"And we deserved that little bit of luck when we needed it.

"We've scored two very good goals and I'm just so proud of the effort and the performance.

"If we'd got any kind of result tonight, it would've been a fantastic result but to take all three points, regardless of how we've achieved them is just a massive, massive effort and another good win for us."

When asked how Town had achieved the result, Lakeland said: "Through organisation.

"They're a very good team who try and wear you down, grind you down.

"A lot of what they do has a level of predictability about it and they're incredibly dangerous when they take the lead because then you've got to open up a bit and it gives them more space and opportunities on transition.

"So us just being organised, trying to nullify their dominance in the middle of the pitch, trying to reduce the involvement of their number tens as much as we could.

"And trying to get our noses in-front because it meant we could then try and control the game a bit more, be a bit deeper and take some of the space behind us away from them.

"Just tactically, very astute, organised, committed, and then some incredible, last-ditch, bodies-on-the-line type stuff when we needed it in that last ten minutes plus stoppage time.

"That may not have come if we'd not conceded the goal, because at that moment in the game, we looked well in control, we were 2-0 up, the crowd were quiet but we gave the ball away in our half, conceded, and it changed the whole dynamic of the game.

"There's 30 minutes to go and the crowd are back in the game, and they kept pushing right to the end, and brought some real quality off the bench, put a lot of balls in the box.

"Sometimes you've got to accept you're going to face a bit of an onslaught and try to ride it out, and every credit to the players for doing that."

Hmami has already established himself as a key player for The Shyamen and is now on six goals for the season.

"He played three or four games at centre-half as well, don't fiorget," said Lakeland.

"He's a top player - how nobody in the Football League's not taken him in the last two or three years is beyond me.

"Obviously we're delighted to have him with us.

"It's not just his quality and ability to chip in with goals, but the lad's output is exemplary, he runs himself into the ground every single game for his team, regardless of where you play him and what job you ask him to do.

"He's a real team player.

"We know his qualities but one of the big reasons we brought him here was because of everything he gives us but I know he can get goals, and he's chipped i with two great goals tonight.

"Hopefully he can keep that going now."