Manager reflects on defeat to Accrington
Exeter City manager Paul Tisdale gave his verdict following a disappointing home win at the hands of Accrington Stanley.
Kayode Odejayi’s goal just before the interval was the difference, as the Nigerian striker bundled in from close range after Lee Molyneux’s corner wasn’t cleared effectively.
Off the back of impressive performances and results against Fleetwood and Plymouth, it was a frustrating occasion to watch the team fall to a sixth 1-0 home defeat of the season rather than build on those results.
Paul felt that the better team on the day prospered and felt that the team didn’t play as the collective unit as they have demonstrated they can do in recent weeks.
“It’s a disappointing afternoon really,” said Tis. “There are two parts to it – my view of the way we played today and making sure we learn from it, but the major part of our discussion is about what happens next and what we do from here. That’s what we have to focus on.
“Accrington deserved their win – they were the better team, they created more chances and they controlled the game, and well done to them.
“The goal was pretty basic – it was a ball put into a dangerous area, and a fight and a scrap and it’s gone over our line. It’s up to the referee to decide whether he saw any infringement – he saw there wasn’t, but I’m not complaining because we didn’t deal with it.
“We were a bit lacklustre with our performance. In isolation, each of our players started the game looking on top of his game. But it didn’t relate to what I had asked them to do as a team. It bore no resemblance to the direction I required and asked of them.
“I warned them before the game what I’d like them to do and not what to do, and they got dragged into some indulgence and some over-complication. We didn’t put pressure on Accrington’s back four.
“Accrington played well as a team and controlled the game – we over-complicated it and didn’t get enough players forward. Last week we were able to do it against Fleetwood because they had the ball and we were able to get up the field by pressing high. Today we had the responsibility with the ball and we didn’t take it.”
Going forward, there are six remaining games in Sky Bet League 2 and Tis is keen to make sure that the team focus on picking up as many points as they can from those fixtures, beginning with a trip to Bury next weekend.
“I’ve said over these last dozen or so games, that it’s about us winning a sufficient amount of games,” he continued. “It would be highly unlikely that we will win all of them – we’re going to get our ups and downs, and as long as we get more ups than down, we’ll be fine.
“There’s a lesson to be learned today. I’m sure the players will have taken my words, and it won’t be particularly pleasant for them. But they know what they have to do.
“All games are going to be tough and everyone’s got something to play for – Accrington are entitled to play flat out and do everything they can to win the game today, so it’s going to be difficult going forward, but we’ve just got to keep our nerve and keep playing.”