Worcester 1-2 Halifax: Denton made a huge impact, says Heath

Town boss Billy Heath praised the impact of substitute Tom Denton after the striker scored in Halifax's 2-1 win at Worcester.

Denton was brought on at half-time after an underwhelming first-half from The Shaymen, and added to Matty Kosylo’s goal to notch his 15th of the season.

“Sometimes in games like this you’ve got to play percentage football, put balls in areas and get second balls,” Heath said of his decision to bring Denton on at half-time.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“He’s a weapon. We knew he’d win 90 per cent of the headers.

“I’m really pleased for him because he’s been out of the team for a while, then he’s had this heel problem, which is still troublesome.

“His goal was fantastic - great ball in from Josh Wilde but he’s put it right in the top corner. A great header.”

Heath was delighted with Denton’s contribution to the game, with the striker helping Halifax get a foothold in the contest.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“He made an impact. When substitutes come on the pitch you want them to make an impact,” Heath said.

“Dents is Dents - he won’t throw his teddy out when he’s not playing.

“He’s not pleased but he’s a team player so he waits for his chance. He came on and in 45 minutes he’s scored a goal and made a huge impact.”

Heath admitted the pitch didn’t help the quality of the match, but said the win was the most important thing.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“It did remind me of the Altrincham game but the pleasing thing is we have ground out the result,” he said.

“By hook or by crook we’re getting results.

“The surface wasn’t great but you’ve got to play on everything - I think there’s going to be more pitches that are difficult than good, and we’ve got to manage them better than we did.

“But it’s just about getting the three points. We never reached the heights football-wise but we got the win.

“Everybody expected us to come here and get a rout but that’s not how football works.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“You’ve got to do the basics but we weren’t first to a lot of things that were dropping in all areas, front to back. You’ve got to fight and scrap when you play at places like this and on pitches like this, and we were second. I said that at half-time.”

Referee Robert Massey-Ellis caused consternation among both sets of supporters by awarding Worcester a penalty and then sending-off scorer Tyler Weir for a second booking.

“I honestly didn’t know why the penalty was given - I have no idea. I’d like to see it again,” Heath added.

“Then, we know it’s a difficult job the referees have, but you cannot send a player off for that. It’s bizarre. If he slapped Sam Johnson then he has to be sent-off. But for me it just looked like handbags. We’re playing men’s football here. I just don’t think you can go down the road of, every time someone makes a challenge, they get a yellow card. You can’t brandish a yellow card every time somebody gets a challenge wrong.”

Related topics: