Lethargic start costly - Marshall

Toronto made a blistering start to leave Fax trailing 18-0 after the opening quarter, a tough opening that the visitors couldn’t recover from.

Marshall believes the disappointing beginning to the match proved costly to his side’s efforts.

“They came out of the blocks really fast and we couldn’t combat that or the speed of the game,” said Marshall.

“It was similar to Toulouse a few weeks ago, with the slow start and they are full-time teams.

“Then we compounded that with some errors in our own half.

“They are class and they certainly unpicked us and took their opportunities really well. They were fast and physical and they should be because they’re a full-time team. We couldn’t quite match that today.”

Despite a tough first-half, which saw Halifax 30-4 behind, the blue and whites rallied with a better display in the second 40 minutes.

“I was very happy with the second-half, I thought that was outstanding,” said Marshall. “I thought we did a real good job in the second-half.

“Steve Tyrer came off, Scott Murrell really should have come off and Simon Grix also came off.

“We also lost Will Maher to severe cramp. We were bust up and didn’t have any fit players to come off the bench at the end of the game.

“Again, that’s testament to the players’ character. It wasn’t in the first-half and we questioned that and spoke about that at half-time.

“We didn’t win and we came into the game on some winning form. We’ve got to look at the reasons why and our preparations, which is my job. How we combat these teams is by starting well.

“The fans were outstanding. I feel for them because it’s a costly venture for them to come down here. But they put all of the flags out and were banging the drum.

“The support throughout the game was immense. We must thank them for travelling down and wish that we could have given a bit more of an account of ourselves.”