"We're doing a lot of good, but the bad at the minute is really hurting us," says Lakeland after Town's draw with Eastleigh

Halifax trailed 2-0 at half-time after a wretched opening 45 minutes, but produced a spirited second-half showing to claim a point, and could have claimed all three.

"We should have won," was Lakeland's verdict.

"Everybody will say we were poor first-half and great second-half, but I thought we lost that game in probably a 15, 20 minute period.

"We were the better team at the start of the game, should have been ahead, conceded a goal from one of their goal kicks, which is a pattern that we'd spoke about and looked at yesterday.

"We then should have equalised, didn't, conceded a soft foul and an even softer goal to go 2-0 down.

"Then that's where I felt we were poor, when we went 2-0 down.

"I felt we stopped remembering what we needed to try and do, how we want to try and play.

"We looked like we lost confidence and belief that we could still get a result out of the game, and they were better than us.

"They controlled it, killed the clck, and we needed half-time.

"Half-time was a case of 'we have to reset here', and we have to believe we can still win the game, because if we can score the next goal, the whole mood of the game changes and you'll feel like you can still get a result.

"And we should have scored the first goal (sooner), we had numerous chances.

"A combination of saves, blocks, not quite hitting the target, hitting the woodowrk, meant it took us a while to get that first goal.

"As soon as we got the first goal, I genuinely felt we were going to win the game and I'm disappointed in the end that we haven't, even from 2-0 down.

"But I'm not happy with that, because I can't keep on seeing us fall behind to crap goals.

"I know the players will go right to the end, and they've shown tremendous character and spirit yet again, but we should be at least four or five points better off, which would probably see us up and around the top seven.

"Because of our own doing at this moment in time, we're not, so it's got to stop, and it's got to stop quickly if we want to kick on.

"But the flip side to that is obviously elation because I thought some of our football in that second-half was phenomenal, and we should have scored five or six goals in the second-half alone.

"So we're doing a lot of good, but the bad at the minute is really hurting us."

When asked how Town can stop giving away soft goals, Lakeland said: "It's probably a combination of many things.

"Shaun Hobson doesn't get done that easily off set plays, but the lad's been out for three weeks and he's come into a game at The Shay, on a big pitch, which ended up being very end to end.

"So maybe just that bit of rust for the second goal, because people don't generally beat him that easily.

"The first one, I was making a note of something and I didn't see how the move exactly started and how they worked the ball through us and scored, but I do remember it initiated from a goal kick and I remember seeing the lad go through and score, so I need to watch that one back.

"But some of the others in earlier games, just poor decision-making, errors, giving away unnecessary fouls, penalties.

"So it's probably many factors, but I have every confidence that we'll overcome this period of conceding first and conceding poor goals, and when we do, I think we'll kick on."

Will Hugill was taken off at half-time, which Lakeland said was a tactical change rather than an injury.

"We wanted to get Owen Bray on the pitch," Lakeland said.

"I felt we needed to make that change.

"With hindsight, maybe he should have started, he was in the team until first thing this morning and sometimes you just have a gut feeling as a manager.

"But I certainly felt we were better second-half having him on that side, we had more natural width on both sides of the pitch and I thought he was really effective when he came on."

Only one outfield player who started for Town - Angelo Cappello - was at the club last season.

"We knew all along it was going to take us a bit of time because we've got so many new bodies," Lakeland said.

"Owen Devonport's been in the building for just over a week, and he's scored two goals, which is really positive.

"But we're still understanding his game and he's still understanding what we expect from him, so he'll only get better and stronger for us.

"You've then got Dylan and Shaun, who are new in at the start of the season and both had niggles and been out, and that's their first game back.

"You've got Jevon, who's been out and now he's come back in.

"Hmami joined us a bit later and has ended up playing a lot of games at centre-half, so there's a lot of permutations that are contributing to us learning on the job about one another.

"But one thing I cannot question about these lads already is character and b***ocks, they've got that in abundance.

"That's really encouraging, so I've no doubt that with time, we'll just keep on improving."