Chris Agutter praised his side’s response from Saturday’s defeat to Truro City, as they secured an important victory on the road.
Goals either side of the break from Kai Jennings and Brandon Njoku sealed a 2-0 win away at relegation rivals Eastleigh, highlighting both the performance and mentality of the players after the Spitfires had gone down to ten men early on.
“It’s obviously a great result,” he said. “A great response from the players.”
“I thought the performance was very good and we deserved to win the game.”
“We missed some chances, even at 11 v 11. We know better than anyone the game’s not done when you’re against ten men. At 1-0, you’re missing chance after chance and it can become a problem.”
He acknowledged the threat posed by the opposition, particularly in attacking areas, even after the red card, but he was particularly pleased with the mentality his side showed in bouncing back from recent disappointment, while reiterating the need for a more ruthless edge to put games beyond doubt.
“They’ve got Aaron Blair up top for them, Inih Effiong – I was delighted when they brought Effiong off because I thought he was a real threat aerially and from set pieces.”
“Those guys up front have always got a chance and at 1-0, when you miss chance after chance, you’re always wary of that.”
“But the response from the players is so impressive. They’ve done it again.”
“Every time they’ve had disappointment, they bounce back. I can’t praise them enough, they deserve so much credit.”
“We’ve got to be more ruthless though. We could have won that more convincingly and I think we deserved to.”
The early red card for Eastleigh goalkeeper Nick Townsend shaped much of the contest, though Agutter admitted there was some uncertainty over how the opposition would approach the game tactically.
Despite this, he felt his side handled the situation well, regardless of the numerical advantage.
“We weren’t sure what they were going to do,” he said. “Whether they’d sit in and counter or be more aggressive.”
“I thought we started really well, on the front foot, and that probably led to the sending off.”
“Whether it’s 11 v 11 or 10 v 11, if teams sit in and try to counter, it doesn’t change a great deal.”
“I think we managed that situation really well and created enough chances to score more.”
Kai Jennings notably scored a second direct corner of the season, having done so against Shrewsbury Town back in December, with Agutter quick to credit the work done behind the scenes, while the second goal, which arrived late in the game, brought a mixture of emotions for the manager.
“Massive credit to Ben Cornelius,” he said. “He does the set-pieces. We took a bit of heat for them at the weekend, so it was pleasing to see them work tonight. It was a great delivery and the movement in the box was very good.”
“As for the second goal, I felt relief, but still apprehension because you’ve got ten minutes to go and you just never know in football. We’ve seen that ourselves before.”
“We went through a period where we were trying to keep possession and that’s not what we want.”
“We became passive, but as soon as we started being more front foot and trying to put the game to bed, I felt more comfortable.”
