Head coach Scott Brown spoke to the media after his side suffered a last-minute defeat to Exeter City at St James Park on Saturday afternoon.
Carlos Mendes Gomes opened the scoring early in the game, but the home side reacted immediately as Jay Stansfield converted a low cross two minutes later. The game was decided in the added time at the end as Jay Nombe scored his sixth of the season to secure the win for the home side.
Here’s what the gaffer had to say after the game:
On the way the game panned out…
“We had a lot of possession of the ball like we knew we were going to have, but we didn’t create enough chances. We got in some good positions in the final third and managed to start some counter attacks, but the lads weren’t positive enough in the final area.
“They didn’t take the responsibility, which is very important as, late in the game in the 95th minute, they managed to get down the line and put the ball in a dangerous area, and I can’t remember us doing that with the ball played at that pace.
“If you can’t win the game late on, you make sure you don’t lose it; you’ve got to have that mentality – that goes through the entire squad. You’ve got to have that desire to make sure you stay in the game for 97 or 98 minutes.”
On appreciating the fans and the defensive display…
“The fans were incredible; they drove seven hours down here to come and watch us and I’m just disappointed we weren’t able to get a result for them because we could have easily held that game out.
“[Jay] Lynchy looks after himself and that’s what he does every day, he’s got a fantastic work rate and has a good way about the place – he wants to work and improve – you want 11 players like that.
“Looking forwards now, we need to make sure we create more clear-cut chances and work more on the attacking than on the defenders as I thought the two centre-halves did well against two physical strikers that work hard for 90 minutes and cause a lot of team’s problems.”
An update on the squad’s current injuries…
“We’ve had a lot of injuries, which is part and parcel of the season going along, but that’s what we’ve got a good squad for. We need to make sure we use those bodies and, we’ve got a couple coming back as well – Promise [Omochere] will help us and so will a fully fit Callum Morton.
“Joe [Garner] is always there as he is Mr Reliable but, for us, it’s that final third that we need to figure out. It’s okay having a lot of possession of the ball, but we need to make sure we create more clear-cut chances.
“Lewis [Warrington] is struggling as he has a tender groin and will probably be out for the next couple of weeks, so we just need to try and maintain Brendan [Wiredu] as much as we can and see where Lewis is in a couple of weeks.
“Football is a hard environment, playing three times a week, so you need to make sure you are available and ready no matter what. These calf strains and thigh injuries happen because maybe the players aren’t ready enough.”