Grecians boss reacts to Bristol Rovers defeat
EXETER CITY manager Paul Tisdale said his team suffered from two lapses in tidiness after the Grecians went down 3-1 at Bristol Rovers.In a feisty clash at the Memorial Stadium, Billy Bodin, Lee Brown and Matty Taylor scored for Rovers, with Jake Taylor offering the Grecians' reply.
"It was a good game," Paul reflected. "I think that both teams had to try and win it, and we got caught out, for the first and third goals particularly. Rovers were well-organised and a good team, and we had to be tidier with our play. We had to go for it in the second half, and they got us on the counter-attack to make it 3-1. It was very disappointing to lose it, because it was a must-win game for us."
City defender Troy Brown was seemingly harshly penalised in the moments leading to Rovers' second goal, but Paul insisted that he felt it was simply a bad moment for the Grecians.
"As all managers say, I didn't see it, but I really mean that," he said. "The ball had left the area, and I believe there was a skirmish on the edge of our box. I think that their player was trying to hold our chap down, and tried to take an advantage. I think our player just reacted and gave him a bit of a bump. You can't react, and if he did react, then we deserved the free-kick against us. It was a bad moment for us.
"We tried our best to build on Jake Taylor's goal; at 2-1, we had to go for it, and we couldn't just sit back. The next goal was crucial, and they managed to get it. But generally, we just weren't tidy enough. The players gave a hundred per cent, and we tried to play our football. But the players just got caught out by one or two untidy moments."