Matt Taylor was proud of Bristol Rovers’ performance in their 1-0 loss to Reading in Sky Bet League One.
The Gas went down to ten men after Shaq Forde’s second yellow card and conceded soon after, with Sam Smith poking a low shot through Josh Griffiths, but reacted brilliantly and were the better side for the remainder of the contest.
Clinton Mola was twice denied a leveller against his former side by Joel Pereira, and Taylor Moore could not scramble his shot beyond the goalkeeper, with the Royals coming away with the three points.
Taylor was pleased with his team and insisted they deserved to come away from the Select Car Leasing Stadium with something.
I’m incredibly proud of that group of players...
"I’m incredibly proud of that group of players," said Taylor. "Certainly in terms of that second-half performance. We were OK in the first half; we made a few mistakes, which allowed their chances, and the little bit of momentum they gained allowed them to get their tails up.
"Then obviously, the home crowd as well. But we had a threat about us, certainly in that first half. We know what happened with the red card. We don’t feel that’s acceptable on our part because we play the biggest part because we play the biggest part in that.
"We went a goal down, but what we did from that point on will probably show where we want this team to be on a more regular basis, and they gave everything and more. I’m so sad and sorry for them that they don’t have more to show for the game."
Forde will certainly learn from the red card...
"We make certain mistakes in the game; anyone can see that," he said. "But the red card mistake is one that doesn’t need to happen. There’s a football aspect, and then there’s a personality and character aspect, which we do need to improve on.
"Forde will certainly learn from it and in a hard way."
The belief grew...
"We changed shape, and we trusted them to link the play with shorter passes and still having a little bit of threat at the top end of the pitch," said the manager. "Then all of a sudden, we gained a little bit of control in that ten-men period, and we built and built and built.
"The belief grew, the forward play grew, and then all of a sudden, we’re peppering their goal. But for incredible saves from the goalkeeper and goalmouth scrambles, I’d be standing here with the biggest smile on my face and with a deserved point.
"It’s such a shame that I think everyone there would appreciate that there was a united and committed team out there with enough skill in certain areas of the pitch. Loads of areas to improve, we know that, but it is certainly a moment for us to pick up and take to take to the next level."
A lot of things went against us today...
"A lot of things went against us today," he said. "A good goalkeeping performance, poor refereeing performance, a bit of naivety from ourselves, some poor bounces of the ball that wouldn’t quite land to us.
"But we’ve got to force the issue, and we’ve got to make it happen. We created enough to get something out of the game. The headline and reports will all be about our performance, but the newspapers will read a 1-0 defeat tomorrow morning."
