Butterfield: Hopefully it's a starting point for us

Midfielder Jacob Butterfield spoke to Iron Player following United’s 2-2 draw away at Altrincham.

Summing up his thoughts on the result, he started by saying: “We’re disappointed in the end after going 2-1 up in the second half. It would’ve been great to hold on for the win but unfortunately, we couldn’t do that. 

“A point away from home is never bad and considering the run we’ve been on, a point is a starting point for us so hopefully we can build on that now."

Talking on the performance to come back from 1-0 down, the midfielder said: “I thought second half, up until going 2-1 up, was very good. We dominated the game and really put pressure on by playing good football and not just lumping it.

“We really played well in that period and deservedly went 2-1 up. There are lots of good things and positives from the game to take and it's a small step in the right direction really.”

Butterfield started the comeback for the Iron, netting a 65th minute equaliser whilst picking up his second goal of the season in the process.

“It was a counter attack, I was playing deeper, but I recognised a chance to go and support [the attack] and felt like Rob (Apter) did brilliantly, he pulled it back to me," he said.

“It wasn’t the cleanest finish but always in that instance you go across goal and keep it low, and you’ve got a good chance."

“It was a good goal from that point of view,” he finished.

Discussing the huge save from Iron goalkeeper Marcus Dewhurst to keep the score at 1-0 seconds before his equaliser, Butterfield said: “These are the small things in football, and too often small details have gone against us and we’ve suffered a bit by being punished from every mistake we’ve made.

“Results haven’t been good enough but some of the performances haven’t been a million miles away so there’s lots of stuff that we need to keep and keep improving.

“I said it at the start of the season, and I still maintain it, we’ve got the makeup to be a good team.

“I think the confidence is low, and you’ve seen that tonight. When you go 2-1 and you’ve not won for a little while you just want to sort of defend, keep hold to the lead and sit back a bit. It’s only natural and unfortunately, we got punished for that."

“Hopefully we can build on the point and get some wins on the board going forward,” he concluded.

Discussing interim manager Tony Daws and his assistant Michael Nelson, he said: “They’re great, really positive and good people to work with. Everyone’s buying in and we’re working hard, I think that’s showed tonight. We showed good character."

Looking ahead to York City at home on Saturday briefly, he said: “It’ll be a good game, the fans will be there hopefully, and they’ve been brilliant again tonight.

“We’re looking forward to it already and hopefully we can get that first win in awhile and really start looking up now."

See more from Jacob Butterfield and Michael Nelson on Iron Player.