Boss says Skem paid price for profligate finishing
PAUL McNally believes profligate finishing cost Skelmersdale United in their 3-1 defeat at Squires Gate on Saturday.
United had won three of their last four NWCFL Premier Division matches but secondhalf strikes from Cameron Gourlay and James Boyd handed Gate victory.
“The result says it all,” McNally said following the loss.
“The first-half we should have went in 3-1, 4-1 up but we’ve wasted chances really.
“We had more than enough chances in the first-half probably than we’ve had in the last six games.
“We were putting them under pressure but didn’t take our chances. We’ve hit the bar and missed an open goal.
“That’s what happens in football. If you don’t take your chances you don’t win.
“Credit to them in the secondhalf, they’ve realised they were still in the game, pushed forward and pegged us back in the first 10-15 minutes.
“It gave them confidence and we never got going in the second-half. It was poor. I don’t know if it was down to confidence in the second-half but we couldn’t going.”
Recent victories over Congleton Town, Padiham and Burscough have pushed Skelmersdale eight points clear of the Premier Division relegation zone.
McNally is confident his team will ‘regroup’ after defeat last weekend and refused to point the finger at his back-four ahead of the visit of league leaders 1874 Northwich on Saturday.
“We defend as a team and I’m just a bit disappointed,” the former Litherland REMYCA manager said.
“I’d have taken a point here the way the second-half was panning out. They’ve done well, they place in certain areas where it’s hard to defend against and we didn’t today.
“We weren’t at the races second-half. That’s all it is. We go again, we regroup as a group and we move forward.”