Dean Hammond admitted his frustration after a late defeat to Rochdale, but was full of praise for his side’s performance against the league leaders.
Late goals from Devante Rodney and Ian Henderson overturned Charlie Bell’s spectacular opener, causing heartbreak after Sutton went toe to toe with the best team in the division, with a performance that warranted far more than coming away empty-handed.
Henderson’s 90+7th minute goal only proved to add fuel to the fire, with an an already tense game becoming even more heated at the death, and led to tempers flaring after the full time whistle which resulted in Head Coach Chris Agutter being shown a red card, leaving Assistant Manager Hammond to take on media duties following his side’s last gasp loss; the former Southampton and Leicester City midfielder highlighting the level his side reached both in and out of possession, believing they executed the game plan to near perfection.
“Of course we’re disappointed,” he said. “Frustrated with how the game ended, but the players were fantastic today.”
“What we asked them to do this week, they delivered. They were brilliant with the ball, but so good without it as well.”
“I’ve not seen many teams stop Rochdale like that and cause them as many problems as we did.”
“It’s tough to take because the players deserved more. For the game to finish like that after such a good performance is hard. But that’s football.”
Hammond described it as one of the team’s standout displays of the season, with a sense of pride in the dressing room, even if the result overshadowed it, and pointed to the tactical approach which forced Rochdale to adapt early in the match.
“I’d say it’s one of our best performances this season,” he added. “The way we passed the ball, the energy, the determination to win it back and unsettle them – it was excellent.”
“The manager said how proud he is of the players. We’ve pushed the best team in the league all the way. I think we deserved to win because of how we played and how hard we worked. The plan really worked
“We’ve watched a lot of Rochdale this season and they haven’t changed for anyone, no one this year. But they had a change in that first 20 minutes because we were causing them so many problems. That doesn’t happen often with them, so credit to the players.”
The number two sent on to discuss the tactical tweaks made before the game, which saw David Ogbonna and Junior Eccleston return to the side, with the changes to the system and personnel playing a key role, as well as reserving special praise for the attacking unit and key individuals who stood out.
“Getting Junior back in was important,” he said. “His athleticism helps us a lot.”
“Moving players into midfield and using pace up top, we felt that would cause them problems – and it did.”
“The front players worked tirelessly,” he said. “Their pressing and energy was outstanding.”
And we had players getting on the ball in dangerous areas and making things happen. The goal we scored was brilliant.”
Despite the late collapse, he was keen not to let those final moments define the overall performance, and believed the display can serve as a confidence boost heading into the final games of the season, backing the squad to respond once again.
“We’ll have to look back at it,” he said. “When you’re winning late on, there’s always a bit of anxiety and teams take more risks.”
“Unfortunately, we conceded twice at the end. But let’s focus on the 85 minutes before that, where we were excellent.”
“It hurts right now, and that’s normal. But this should give the players real confidence.”
“We’ve gone toe-to-toe with the best team in the league and been the better side.”
“We’ll review it, show the players how good they were, and keep improving. Like we’ve done all season, we’ll bounce back.”
