Solihull 0-0 FC Halifax Town: We were worthy of a point, says Fullarton

The Shaymen produced a hard-working display at Damson Park against a Solihull side who missed a first-half penalty.

The hosts dominated the first-half and created several chances before Halifax got to grips with their opponents after half-time and were more of a threat themselves.

“All things considered, we’ve got to be pleased with a point, a point not stolen, well merited,” Fullarton said.

“I think the players understood what we were going to be up against.

“It’s not by chance that Solihull Moors, with the investment they’ve had and the players they’ve brought in and a certain style they play, has been really effective.

“They’ve won six out of seven and I think four or five of those have been clean sheets, and they score plenty of goals.

“So it’s pleasing to come away from home on a Tuesday with a group of players who showed they are capable, after a disappointing result on Saturday, to raise it and compete with a team that’s in the top four.

“Maybe, on chances in the second-half, we could have escaped with three points.”

When asked if he felt his side had showed character in what was a battling performance, Fullarton said: “I think we show a lot of character in general. I think what you look at, probably outside the camp as opposed to inside the camp, is see how they respond.

“And it’s a great opportunity because you’re coming away to the in-form team in the league, odds against you, limited in terms of a small squad with players that are available, who are having to go to the well again, and they’ve shown they are capable of competing with the top teams in the league.

“If you look at the top seven at the moment, when we’ve played them, we’ve had reasonable results, and more importantly, performances have suggested that we are capable, at strength, of competing.

“We just have to make sure we have the full strength squad to pick from, and that we’re consistent with that.”

Fullarton felt his side tightened up in the second-half after some generous defending before the interval.

“If you look at how Solihull have gained their points,” Fullarton said, “they start fast, and they have a direct way of playing. And it’s blind pressure.

“Even from kick-off, you see within 30 seconds they’ve got a corner.

“Whilst they had the better of it, or created chances from their blind pressure, in the first-half, we had certain passages of play where we got into good areas.

“Cameron King had a chance, has to do better, Dayle Southwell has a good chance, and Johnny (Edwards) has two, from reasonable play, as opposed to blind pressure.

“Where I think we did better in the second-half, we eradicated individual errors that led to their blind pressure creating those chances.

“Those mistakes, no matter how much you plan and prepare people for, you can’t legislate for.

“I think second-half, to a man, we eradicated that and it then meant overall, there was never any point in the second-half we felt under pressure having weathered the storm of about 15 minutes where they were, as they are in every game, camped or playing regularly into our box from every angle of the box.”

Fullarton said he didn’t get a clear view of the penalty incident and would need to see it again, but he did say Matty Brown, who was penalised for a tackle on Jermaine Hylton, was adamant it wasn’t a foul.

Town got into some decent positions but lacked a clinical edge in-front of goal.

“As a manager, when you work on a daily, weekly basis, it’s about both boxes, and can you prevent or limit their chances, and can you work on a way of playing to get players in positions to create chances,” said Fullarton.

“And I think we did that. After that, then it becomes individual responsibility.

“The fact that people are willing to make the runs to get into those positions suggests that there’s a level of confidence.

“But I’m not going to keep repeating myself, but it’s clear we need to look at continuing to work hard to increase the ratio of chances-to-goals.”

When asked if he would liked to have made more changes to his side had he had more options available, Fullarton said: “Every manager would like competition in their squad, they would like no injuries.

“If you look at our opponents, as an example, out of their starting 11, I think the minimum they’ve started is 12 games.

“I think they’ve got five or six that have played the 17, so that’s a great position to be in.

“That’s not the case with us, but we’re at where we’re at. We’re deep into our squad, and great credit coming away to a team in the top four with the record they have, and getting a well deserved point.

“Although we’re looking to take three points ultimately, begrudgingly, we’re happy going home with a point with the circumstances, situation and all the baggage that surrounds where we’re at at the moment.”

Fullarton confirmed defender Joe Skarz suffered a concussion in the 1-0 defeat to Eastleigh on Saturday.

“He’s got to go through the FA steps regarding how he feels to move onto the next stage and then the next stage, that’s how it works.

“So we won’t know until Friday where he’s at for Saturday.”