Manager Brian Barry-Murphy reflects on Dale’s 3-0 defeat to Hull City at the Crown Oil Arena…
“It was a tough result and it ends up being a very difficult day for us when it goes 2-0 and then 3-0 late in the game,” said BBM.
“That’ll be the facts you take from the game but for long periods of the first half and into the second half, I thought we were the better team and in control.
“We weren’t happy with the goal we conceded in the first half and definitely the ones conceded in the second half. The two in the second half were two set-plays, which we’ve worked very hard on, so to concede from these was very disappointing and it puts us at a really difficult angle in the game.”
The Boss continued: “The way we play takes a lot of courage and it takes a lot of hard work, but we’re not happy conceding the goals that we conceded. We don’t think it’s ok, so that’s definitely stuff for is to work on.
“We kept going right until the end but it became a difficult game for us when we go two and three nil down. You’re then looking for real character because it can become very hard emotionally and it reminded me of certain games last season where we played against big opposition here and the scoreline was very hard for us to take, but within that, you can see real moments of hope and encouragement for the future going forward. I still saw that, especially from Aaron Morley late in the game – he’s got an outstanding attitude to keep going right until the end. Little victories are very important in terms of the overall picture and what you want to see from the Club going forward.”
He added: “You want to be winning games and we felt as if in the first half we had real control of the game against a very good team, who are very well drilled defensively. We didn’t have loads of openings, but I thought we were very much dominant in our play and looking to be pretty forceful. They score from a corner with virtually their first attack and we have a similar chance at the other end that doesn’t go in. But we don’t feel sorry for ourselves and we just have to work very, very hard and understand where we as are a group.
“There were a lot of predictions about how hard this season was going to be for us, and just because it has played out that way so far, it doesn’t worry me or disappoint me. I’m still very, very confident of where we’re going and how exciting that will be.”
Watch the full interview on iFollow.