Agutter: “We Didn’t Give Up, We Ran Hard And Had A Go”

Chris Agutter admitted his side fell short after a disappointing 3–0 home defeat to Truro City at the VBS Community Stadium.

Will Dean set the Tinners on their path to victory with a cracking free kick towards the end of the first half, before Jack Stretton and Luke Jephcott struck two more blows in the second half to condemn the U’s to a second home loss in a row.

After a strong run of results, Agutter’s side were unable to build momentum on home soil, with the Head Coach pointing to key moments that shaped the outcome, and despite seeing plenty of the ball, he felt his side lacked cutting edge and defensive organisation.

“I think up until the first goal it was pretty even, maybe we shaded it,” he said.

“They score from a direct free kick which, looking back at it, looked incredibly straightforward. That’s something we need to look at.”

“We had loads of the ball, loads of territory, but lacked threat.”

“We didn’t get our shape right behind the ball anywhere near well enough, which meant we were vulnerable to the counter-attack.

“To be fair to them, they’ll probably be disappointed they didn’t score more because they had some really good moments on the counter.

“It felt more like our lack of organisation rather than them being particularly electric.”

The boss revealed the half-time message was focused on composure rather than chasing the game too early, however, conceding again early in the second half proved a major blow.

“We said at half-time not to chase the scoreline,” he said.

“Don’t be too emotional, try not to take the anxiety from the crowd onto the pitch. Stay calm and composed – we felt we would create chances and finish strong if we stayed in the game.”

“They make it 2–0 just after half time and that really took the wind out of our sails. I don’t think we responded brilliantly after that.”

“We didn’t give up, we ran hard and had a go, but often passed and it rounded off a pretty disappointing day.”

While acknowledging missed opportunities, Agutter stressed the bigger issue was game management, with the result following another heavy defeat at home against Morecambe two weeks ago, something he admitted is a concern.

“Maybe it comes down to a lack of a clinical edge,” he said.

“But when you’re not as ruthless as we have been in recent games, you need to draw these games 0–0.

“We gave up too many opportunities on the counter-attack and gave them too much encouragement.

“On days like that you’ve got to grind out a point and keep the scoreboard ticking over.”

“What makes it more frustrating is that against Hartlepool, Scunthorpe, Yeovil, Wealdstone, Woking, we’ve shown a really high level of performance and picked up wins.”

“To then go from that level to what we produced today is really difficult to understand.”

Agutter subsequently pointed to inconsistency within a young squad as a central factor, including pointing out the absence of Jake Taylor, though despite the setback, he was keen to highlight the progress made in recent weeks, suggesting adding experience will be key moving forward.

“It’s a young group, they’re learning on the job,” he said.

“I’ve managed a long time and this is probably the most up-and-down group I’ve worked with.”

“That’s the frustration because they’re a great group of lads and they’ve shown how good they can be.”

“The players have done incredibly well to move us clear of the relegation zone.”

“We just need to pick up three wins between now and the end of the season and that guarantees survival.”

“The lads will benefit from these moments, both good and bad.”

“But we do need a bit more experience to help this group find consistency.”

Looking ahead, Agutter is already focused on an immediate response, with a visit to Eastleigh bringing a swift opportunity to continue the U’s positive run on the road, while the boss also took the time to praise the home support, with a packed out home end bringing a season-high attendance.

“The support was brilliant,” he said.

“The numbers, the noise, the energy – they were magnificent. We’re just really disappointed we couldn’t give them the performance and result they deserved.”

“The recent [away] form gives us hope, but it’s not a given. Just because we’ve done it before doesn’t mean we’ll do it again.”

“It’s up to us as staff and players to respond, learn from it and move forward.”

“The games are coming thick and fast and I’m delighted about that because we want to put this right as quickly as possible.”