Taylor acknowledges fallibility as City miss out on play-offs
EXETER City manager Matt Taylor felt Saturday’s 1-1 home draw with Barrow that ended their promotion hopes was a reflection of the League Two season, with the Devon team just falling short of what was required.
Matt Jay’s 20th goal of the season put the Grecians ahead midway through the first half at St James’ Park and on course for a play-off spot, but poor defending from a corner allowed Tom Beadling to equalise on 57 minutes.
Ryan Bowman (pictured below right) missed a golden chance to win it late on, firing over from close range, but in the end, it mattered little as far as the play-off hunt went, with Newport County and Tranmere Rovers drawing, and Forest Green Rovers winning, meaning even a win would not have been enough.
Salford City’s win over Leyton Orient meant that City finished ninth in the final table, three points outside the play-offs, and Taylor, who said the unit was “raw” after missing out on the top seven, admitted that the squad just ran out of steam as the season went on.
“We’re raw at this moment in time,” Taylor said. “We were slightly short in the game today and probably from Christmas onwards, and the season proved too much for some in the performances and players in the squad.
“We were relying on certain personnel, so I have no qualms about that, but it was disappointing, going into this game thinking you have a chance and, while the results didn’t go our way anyway, but we needed to win that game no matter what and we couldn’t do that.
“Some of the players tried to stand up but we just didn’t quite have enough and that has shown in the last few games. Players have been out of form and we saw today some players in form for the first half, but it just petered out when they got the goal and we couldn’t break them down, but we’ve just run out of steam. The effort this season has taken has taken its toll and the quality just hasn’t been there.”
The City boss added: “We played some good football in the first half and they pinned us back through physicality and long balls and setpieces and full credit to Barrow, that has been their method to stay in the League, but we should have produced better moments in possession in the second half.
“We knew the results weren’t going our way but we still wanted to win the game, and Ryan’s chance at the end has to go in and then you say we’ve done all we can, but that’s a good reflection of the season.”
Jay, who was named supporters’ and players’ player of the season after the game, had put City ahead when he tapped home from close range after a Robbie Willmott cross, but Barrow levelled when a corner was not dealt with and fell to Beadling, who lashed home.
Bowman’s late chance was the best that City created but, after a Ben Seymour cross, the striker ballooned his effort over the bar from a matter of yards with the goal gaping.
Taylor added: “We were never good enough for automatic promotion, but if we had kept Joel Randall fit, Nicky Law stays, Randell Williams doesn’t have a stress fracture, we had a chance. If we had them, then we had a chance, but that’s a sign of the squad.
“When you have good players, you can never replace them with any with an added quality, and even today we had most of the ball and the position and we didn’t have the real quality.
“You’re always depending on the core group of the senior players and that’s built on the seniority and the young ones will flourish even more on that, but that’s where we’ve fallen short. Credit to the young players, but we fell short as far as some of the senior players.”