Chances created tempers frustration of defeat

STANLEY dominated Saturday’s home game against Crawley Town, only to be hit with a set-piece sucker punch which saw them lose 1-0.

Manager John Coleman was frustrated but was able to take some comfort from the fact his side created so many chances.

“It’s frustrating. The pleasing thing is that we are starting to make more chances. We had 23 shots, 10 on target which is unusual for us. I think Jack (Nolan) had about seven of them himself, it was like a one-man crusade.

“You just can’t legislate for what’s happened – well, you can, because you’ve got to defend better from a set play. Our keeper’s made one good save but they didn’t really look like scoring. They played some nice football but we took it off them time and time again, we made chances. It’s either a brilliant save or a lucky save from their keeper from the double ricochet – I’d like to ere that it was a great save. We’ve wasted a couple of opportunities, one after five minutes, Jake going clean through – that could be the difference. I think if we score that we go on and win the game quite comfortably.

“But it wasn’t to be and you’ve got to take your chances when they are presented. We’d spoke about how we’d had a lot of shots and the keeper had parried them, and then he goes and does another one in the second half and he gets there before our player. He gets up off the floor to get there ahead of our player when, if we’re following that in, you’re getting a goal or a penalty because the keeper’s had to lunge to get a hand on it.

“They are the fine margins. People don’t mean to lose their man from corners but it happens and it’s cost us. The bounce of ball could hit the post and go wide – it’s hit the post and come out. That’s when things don’t go for you and I don’t think a lot of things bounced for us but we kept on going to the end.

“I thought we defended well in the main and I thought to we attacked well with such a disjointed side and having to make changes the way we had to. You’re constantly looking to be better but we lost another three players from the squad this week, Seamus (Conneely), Josh Woods and Hendo (Alex Henderson).

“Young Tricky (Lewis Trickett) made his full debut and nearly scored a great goal with the left foot and if you look at the which keeper has been worked the most, it’s theirs by a mile. .

“He was their man of the match, but if you take your chances you don’t give him chances to save. I think if Jake had that chance again he wouldn’t have hit it the way he did, he’d control it because the keeper was in no man’s land and then you wouldn’t be lauding their keeper, you’d be absolutely ironing him out for making an horrendous mistake because he’s done the hokey cokey, going back and forth, back and forth and left Jake with a clean one-on-one.

He should score. That’s the difference, the fine margins in football.

“You can see how much it means to the lads, we kept going right to the end and we’ve got another big game this week. I just take them as they come.

“We didn’t have to play a lot better to win the game, we didn’t have to do much different to win the game but we’ve lost it and so we we try to learn from the mistakes that we made and then we’ll try and build on the promising things that we did.

“Even the most ardent Crawley fan couldn’t think that they deserved to win the game but they have, so fair play.”