Matt Taylor was disappointed with Bristol Rovers’ lack of control in their 3-1 loss to Huddersfield Town in Sky Bet League One.
The Gas had won both of their games in the third tier in October, beating Charlton Athletic and Burton Albion, but went three goals behind before netting a consolation against the promotion-chasing Terriers.
Matty Pearson and Callum Marshall scored before half-time to put the hosts in control before Bojan Radulovic added a third soon after the restart. Isaac Hutchinson came off the bench to net his first goal for Rovers, but it was not enough to start a comeback.
Taylor reacted to the defeat to Huddersfield, the way his side reacted and spoke about the importance of the upcoming game against Shrewsbury Town.
We had no element of control in that first half...
"In the first half an hour, the game just started to go away from us," he said. "There were too many moments within it that went in their favour as opposed to ours.
"It was almost death by 1,000 cuts in relation to that, but then it still needed a blow like the set-piece or the second goal to make us feel worse about ourselves.
"We just didn’t get to the action areas often enough and come out on top often enough in relation to where the ball was.
"We had no element of control in that first half, and then the two goals really compounded that. You’re looking for a reaction in the second half. It came too late, and only when we made the changes from the break."
There are different ways to react...
"There are different ways to react," said the manager. "Everyone wants to go up the other end and score goals straight away. The best way to react is to keep doing your job, stay responsible, keep working hard, running hard and keep understanding the moments of the game that are needed.
"The second goal is a good finish, but it was too soft from our point of view, and the third goal is an incredibly poor moment, and that probably put the game out of reach.
"But if Lino’s chance goes in and James Wilson gets a penalty that he deserved, then 3-2 with 20 minutes left is a different story."
It felt similar to the Peterborough game...
"It felt similar to the Peterborough game," he said. "We looked like we had a bit of brightness about us and a better mentality towards it. The ball was landing to us as much as them.
"They were still a threat and still have quality players, so we have to understand that. But it felt like we had a bit more zip and maybe a change of pace about us, which we certainly didn’t seem to have in that first half."
"We need to win the game against Shrewsbury Town," he said. "If we win that game, we’ve won three out of four in the league, but that’s an if at the moment. We have to make it happen.
"It’s a home game against Shrewsbury where we have got to put our best out there from the first minute and not think too much about any situation at all.
"Just play football, get to the ball and be tough and harder to beat. I imagine we might lose a couple out of the starting team or squad today physically because of where they are."
