Chris Agutter reflected on a 3-0 defeat against Carlisle United, despite his side securing their safety, and admitted there were still positives to take from a difficult afternoon.
Despite an encouraging opening ten minutes, quickfire goals from Harvey Macadam put Carlisle into the ascendancy before Ryan Galvin added a third before the half was out, and gave the Cumbrians a comfortably advantage by the interval.
The Head Coach felt his side showed promise in spells but ultimately lacked the cutting edge, and also pointed to defensive issues, particularly in wide areas.
“Well, the game against Southend was a 3-0 game at least, like we said. We got completely outplayed and dominated. But today, they were more clinical than us. That’s the long and short of it,” he said.
“I think especially in the first half, the chances were probably evenly split, but they were more ruthless and we were wasteful. We didn’t even test the goalkeeper, which is frustrating.”
“We felt we could cause problems with our set-up, and some of the ideas we put into practice worked really well. We had success from that, but we lacked the final bit. Again, they were more ruthless with their chances.”
“We didn’t do well enough to keep it inside, didn’t win enough second balls, and when it went wide, we struggled to deal with them. They created too many chances for our liking.”
Despite the scoreline, he believed the performance had encouraging aspects, and acknowledged that it’s mainly conceding goals in clusters that remains an issue.
“We created some really good moments, especially in the first half, but we didn’t work the goalkeeper anywhere near enough. That’s the difference in levels. They’re third in the league for a reason, and we’ve been fighting to stay in it.”
“We concede goals in bunches. That’s been the case since I’ve come in. In those moments, we need more control and better decision-making.”
“It’s through these challenging experiences that this young group will improve, develop and progress. It’s frustrating in the short term, but it will stand them in good stead long term.”
Ronny Ruiz notably came in for his first National League start, with Agutter full of praise for the young midfielder, whilst adding that tactical adjustments were made to try and counter Carlisle’s strengths, especially after injuries and squad limitations which have contributed to inconsistency.
“Anyone who saw the Southend game would understand why we made changes because we were really poor. We’re limping through to the end of the season with tired legs and players short of their best. We’re trying to freshen things up and plug gaps where we can.”
“He [Ruiz] was excellent. Really good – tidy, composed, strong in the tackle. We felt we’d have the best chance of winning by passing the ball, and he suited that approach.”
“We looked at Carlisle and felt if we could stop the ball getting into key players, that would give us the best chance of being defensively effective. We did that better in the second half, but not in the first, and we got punished.”
“At the moment, because of circumstances, you plug one hole and another appears. That’s why we’ve been inconsistent—winning one, losing one, drawing a couple.”
“But we’ll be stronger for it. The players and staff will learn from these experiences.”
Looking ahead, he emphasised the importance of pre-season and recruitment, before reserving special praise for the travelling supporters.
“With the right recruitment and a hard pre-season, we can improve physically. It’s hard to do that mid-season without risking injuries, as we saw in January. We’ll learn from this, and by August next season, we’ll be in a much stronger place.”
“We really appreciate it [the support]. There were mixed feelings at the end – disappointment with the result but relief that the job is done.
“When we came in, the task was to keep the club in the league and change the style of play. We’ve done that, despite the bumps in the road.”
“We’ve got a cup semi-final coming up, which is really important, and then we’ll start planning for next season properly.”
“We want to build a team the supporters can be proud of, and we believe we’re on the right track.”
