Exeter boss is left to rue missed opportunities
EXETER City manager Matt Taylor said simply ‘we should have won that game’ after his side’s 0-0 draw away at Harrogate Town.
The Grecians had the better chances on their first ever visit to the Envirovent Stadium but couldn’t take them and having been in freescoring form, have now just scored three in their last five, despite playing the last 15 minutes against ten men.
And the draw, while keeping them tenth, means it is just one win in eight for Taylor’s men, as their form has just started to tail off.
Ryan Bowman and Josh Key missed good chances in the first half, while Joel Randall could have won it late on, but they had to settle for a draw against Simon Weaver’s side whose poor home form means they haven’t won in nine now on their own patch.
“We should have won that game,” Taylor said. “I can’t describe it in any other way than that we should have won the game. On the balance of the chances, and the good chances at that, we haven’t worked their goalkeeper enough.
“We played some attacking football, created at will, and I am pleased with the clean sheet, but I wanted the three points tonight.”
“We were almost a good team tonight but almost is not good enough when we don’t take the chances.”
With 41 goals, City have scored the most goals in League Two this season - haven’t played the fewest games - but in their last five, have only scored three times, one of them an own goal.
And while Taylor was pleased with what was just the second clean sheet in 13 games, he felt that in front of goal there was perhaps a slight lack of composure from his attacking talent.
“We had a couple of low scoring draws and goalless draw tonight,” Taylor said, when asked if he was concerned by the relative goal drought.
“We have created chances throughout the season and no-one can hold that against us and for the majority of the season we’ve scored those goals at well, but it didn’t quite happen for us tonight. Maybe there was a lack of confidence creeping into the game in front of goal and maybe we needed a bit of composure in what was a helter-skelter fixture that we need to take a moment in front of goal.
“Jonny Maxted has barely had a save to make but their keeper has not been worked enough for the chances we have had.”
On the clean sheet, he said: “Harrogate put the ball down the throats of the centre halves and they have to compete and that’s what I want from defenders. Clean sheets have been lacking from our game, so a big tick for the back four and Jonny, and it was a hard working performance.”
One bright point was the performance of Jack Sparkes off the bench, with Warren Burrell sent-off with 15 minutes to go for two bookable offences on the City sub, and Taylor said that he was pleased with the way the youngster performed, having singled him out for criticism after the Sheffield Wednesday game.
“Jack gave us impetus and he was a real big plus from playing high up the pitch, but we will go home tomorrow morning disappointed that we don’t have three points.
“Sometimes harder to score when they put bodies behind the ball and they are a very committed team, but we want more and I am asking for more from this team.”
Up next for City is back-to-back home games against Stevenage and Morecambe as a run of eight successive Tuesday/Saturday fixtures has begun, and Taylor added: “We will be aiming to score goals and win games of football, and apart from the last three games we have scored a lot of goals.”