Following a 3-1 defeat to Wrexham AFC, manager Chris Millington spoke to Shaymen TV to give his thoughts on the game.
“I’m disappointed for the lads,” Millington said. “The level of effort and hard work they put in was brilliant and I’m so proud of the effort and dedication. There are things we can do better, and we will dissect it. We need to look at why we didn’t look after the ball, why we dropped intensity after we scored and dropped deeper and deeper, and why in the second half we didn’t get to grips with elements of their play like the change of shape.
“The manner of the defeat, although it’s the same score line as last time, was a very different game. The lads are devastated in the changing room, but I think we have a lot to be pleased with and I hope that they come away with their heads held high.”
Town saw themselves go one-nil up in the first half through a Mani Dieseruvwe penalty.
“It was the right decision,” Millington told Shaymen TV. “I’m not one to question a referee usually but I think other than that he’s had a very disappointing night, in my opinion. I think, maybe, some decisions were made off the back of the crowd. Maybe he was in awe of the environment, I don’t know. But I do think he got that one right and we deserved it on the back of some good play and good possession.
“I was pleased that we got the opportunity and pleased for Mani, in terms of being able to keep moving forward with his goal tally. That’s what he will be judged by the end of the season, mainly by those outside the club. Those inside know how much he delivers for us outside the box but he wants goals so I was pleased he could get one tonight.”
Wrexham aimed to apply the pressure towards the end of the first half as they sought to find an equaliser after finding themselves 1-0 down.
“I didn’t feel that we were under any huge pressure in the first half,” Millington said. “Even after we scored and dropped off, we were organised, structured, and defended our box very well. Sam Johnson made one really good save, which helped us out. He got down to second balls to make the save too but it was a defensive performance I was pleased with. Although after half time we were hoping to come out and control possession better and move with the ball better, I didn’t feel under any significant threat as a result of the first half.”
In the second half, Wrexham came out and scored three goals to give them the three points at the end of the game.
“We never got hold of the ball and I think that’s the main disappointment,” Millington told Shaymen TV. “At The Shay, we are really good at getting the ball down and moving it about. It’s not dissimilar here as the surface is good and the size of the pitch is decent. Wrexham pressed well and they’re a hard working and organised side, as you’d expect. We have the ability to play through that and we didn’t do that often enough tonight. If there’s one slight regret, then it would be that we didn’t look after the ball well enough when we had it.”
It was announced before kick off that Sam Smart had joined Dagenham & Redbridge on a month-long loan. Smart went straight into the starting 11 and played 64 minutes in a one-all draw with Boreham Wood.
“Sam needs minutes,” Millington said. “At the minute, Jamie Cooke and Angelo Cappello are doing well and have started the season well. Rather than having Sam sit in the stands watching, we want him sharp and ready to come and contribute to our campaign as and when he’s needed. It’s great that he can get minutes at this level and hopefully he can come back to us in a month or so sharp and ready to contribute.”
Next up for The Shaymen is a visit from Oldham in front of the BT Sport cameras.
“I’m looking forward to that,” Millington told Shaymen TV. “They’re not dissimilar to us, in terms of it’s a good, family run club since the new owners came in. I’ve had a couple of spells at Oldham and they’re a club I know well, and I know a lot of the people there that have remained from my time. The lads are sore tonight and wounded by the result. We have something to prove, and we will go out and prove that. We have something to put right too as tonight’s result needs putting right and also given our last outing on BT, we have a job to do in showing what we can do on the telly.
“We will be bang at it on Saturday and there will be no feeling sorry for ourselves. We will go out and look to get the three points. We will do everything we can to make sure that happens.”
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