Adam Lakeland insists FC Halifax Town should have ‘no shame’ after FA Cup defeat to Exeter City
FC Halifax Town boss Adam Lakeland insisted his side should have “no shame” following their 2-0 FA Cup defeat to Exeter City.
The fifth-tier Shaymen were handed a tough test against the third-tier Grecians, but delivered a strong display.
They were undone by their own poor defending, as errors allowed Danny Andrew and Jayden Wareham to strike in the first half.
A run beyond the first round proper would have been a boost for the club coffers, but Lakeland was full of praise for his players.
‘No shame’
He said: “I thought we've competed and performed very well and we should have no shame in the way we've gone out of the competition this year.
“Obviously, a really poor start for us, conceding a soft goal off a set play, which you just can’t do. That just makes the challenge all that much harder for us.
“I felt maybe 10 to 15 minutes in, we kind of settled down. I thought we competed incredibly well in that first half, but to concede the second goal, it just killed us really.
“If we'd got in at half time 1-0 [down], I think there was only a couple of minutes until the break as well, then you’re in a much stronger position than being 2-0 down against the League One team at half-time, but credit to the players.”
Halifax did not relent after going 2-0 down, working tirelessly to battle their way back into the game.
Adam Lakeland’s pride
Lakeland said: “I’m so proud of how we played and I'm so proud of the efforts, as usual, because even in that second half, we said ‘we have come from behind here’, kicking towards the South Stand, and if we could have scored the next goal in the game, then it could have changed.
“We had a massive chance with Cookie (Jamie Cooke) a couple of minutes into the second half, he’s hit the post. That’s what it's about when you play the top teams or teams from higher up the pyramid, it's about moments and you've got to capitalise on the ones you get.
“We’ve not quite done that today and they've capitalised on us being poor from a set-play and from a mistake where we've turned the ball over just before half-time. So you get punished and it's a lesson for our young team.”