Chris Millington found Halifax Town’s opening pre-season friendly against Hyde to be a beneficial experience, despite a 2-1 defeat. Aaron Cosgrave scored an equalizer ten minutes from time, only for Hyde to secure a late winner.
“We got 90 minutes into a lot of players, including younger lads stepping up from loans last year,” said Millington. “We also assessed some trialists. While I never enjoy losing, it was rewarding in other ways, with strong performances from Will Smith and Adam Adetoro, who, despite not training with the team, showed his potential. Tom Pugh had fantastic moments, and Aaron Cosgrave worked tirelessly up front. So, it was a worthwhile experience.”
Millington noted that Town started strong in the first 15-20 minutes before the game evened out. “Hyde scored during their spells, which is something we need to capitalize on when we have strong phases in matches. But tonight’s makeshift team, who aren’t familiar with each other, had other objectives to meet.”
Several first-team players were absent, and Town fielded four trialists with an inexperienced bench. “We planned pre-season to get to know our new signings better and give them 90 minutes early on. We also wanted to look at a few trialists and give opportunities to Ted Lavelle and Frankie Sinfield to stake their claims for first-team spots,” said Millington.
Discussing the latest signing, 21-year-old, 6ft 4in center-back Adam Alimi-Adetoro, Millington expressed excitement: “He’s a left-footed center half, good on the ball, and a strong one-on-one defender. He has the height to dominate aerially. At Sheffield Wednesday, he was close to the first team but didn’t quite break through. We’re fortunate to secure his services and excited to see him develop at The Shay.”
On goalscorer Cosgrave, Millington remarked, “It’s competitive up front with strong players in that area. We’ll see Jamie Cooke and Adan George over the weekend and next week, and potentially another new signing. It’s about who can be most effective in and around the box while handling the heavy workload of our number nines.”
