"It's massive" - Cooper hails "huge win" after Halifax beat Boreham Wood 2-1

Lee Ndlovu cancelled out Florent Hoti's early opener but Luke Summerfield's penalty earned Halifax a crucial victory in the race for the top seven

"It's a huge win, in terms of momentum, in terms of bouncing back from last week, in terms of going into Tuesday, it's massive," Cooper told the Courier.

"But how we gpot the three points is huge as well.

"We wanted a bigger lead at half-time, we wanted to create more and take more chances - there were spells where I thought we were really good with the ball but to not get that cushion, 1-0 in the National League is not much of a cushion.

"We wanted to get a bit of daylight between us and Boreham Wood, which we didn't, and it always gves an opportunity if there's a decision that goes against you or a moment of individual play by them gets them back in the game.

"It showed a lot about our character, it showed a lot about our resilience and the togetherness of the group to dig in.

"People have absolutely worked their socks off for the shirt today and for the staff, they've been brilliant.

"We knew it wouldn't all be the prettiest in that second-half, we knew the way the pitch was cutting up, it was gewtting heavy, a lot of tire legs from both sides, it was about digging deep.

"Just really, really pleased for the lads to be able to get the points, get the performance in terms of being able to dig it out when it mattered and not suffer for long periods, and go into Tuesday with a real spring in our step ready for the next challenge."

Cooper was delighted that Town were able to respond to Boreham Wood's equaliser with what proved to be the winner.

"I think when their goal goes in to make it 1-1 and they're having a really good spell you're feeling that we need to dig in to come back, and to get the goal straight away was probably the big dfference," he said.

"I thought in the first-half we were the better side, we knew they'd then throw everything at us in terms of how they play - physical, get the ball into the box, long throws, balls from the goalkeeper straight onto our back line.

"They scored when they were in the ascendancy, but for us it was never a free-kick in the first place, but it gives them an opportunity from the halfway line to sling a ball in.

"I thought it was a great tackle by Kane, I didn't think it was a foul, and likewse in the first-half for our goal, he switched it over and gave a foul throw and I didn't feel that happened either, so I thought there were inconsistencies both ways.

"It worked to our advantage with Ty's great switch of play before the cross for Rob's header and Flo's finish, but worked against us with a couple of free-kick decisions, one led to the goal and one l;ed to a spell where they were able to camp in our box for a bit, so that was frustrating.

"But the main thing was we bounced back straight away, so that's really pleasing, and then we finished the game strong.

"We were the better team in the first-half, we've shaded the later stages but for sure, there was a period in that second-half when they've come out of the blocks and thrown everything at us, which you'd expect from a Boreham Wood side.

"The pitch is a different size at their place but they do exactly the same, they're well drilled and organised in what they do, but I'm so pleased to have bounced back from that goal.

"We've got heavy legs, we're a bit depleted in terms of number and lads carrying knocks so to go again whjen we're up against it in terms of the goal going in and feeling a bit sorry for ourselves with the decision, it's really pleasing."

Halifax were the better team in the first-half but again tailed off after the interval.

"We obviously want to try and get the ball down and play, and for all the work Oz and his staff are doing to get the pitch in shape, it's heavy, it cuts up, it makes it difficult for us to play," Cooper said.

"But we've got to manage it and we've got to make sure we can make the best of the situation.

"We wanted to continue coming into the second-half and dominate as we had in the first in terms of getting it down and creating chances, but credit to the opposition, they're not going to roll over for us.

"We'd like to have been better in the initial stages of the second-half but being able to come back is really good from the point of view of the season, being pegged back to 1-1 but not going into our shell and playing how we wanted to get the penalty and see off the game."

On the penalty decision for Halifax's second goal, Cooper said: "I spoke to Ty when he came off and he said he was ckipped, he saud there was contact.

"It was a well worked move and then you've got someone as cool ad professional as Luke Summerfield, you have every faith he can slot it away, which puts us in the ascendancy to control the game.

"We had to make enforced changes with lads struggling who've been carrying knocks for a few weeks, but I thought the tweak we made towards the end just helped us galvanise and hard to get through."

Golden then went off injured not long before the end of the game.

"He's had a tight calf all week," Cooper said, "so we've been monitoring him and managing his load and any opportunity to try and take him out and tweak things lik we did, we made the change but hopefully there's no lasting damage because it's been spotted at the right time."