Matt Taylor stated that his Bristol Rovers side gave themselves too much to do in the 3-2 defeat to Peterborough United in Sky Bet League One.
The Gas struggled to get going before half-time and were 2-0 behind after goals from Kwame Poku and Ricky-Jade Jones gave the Posh a comfortable lead.
Malik Mothersille added a third for the hosts before Luke McCormick and Gatlin O’Donkor scored off the bench to give Rovers a chance, but they fell to a narrow defeat.
Taylor was frustrated by the start and the goals the Gas conceded but was pleased with the substitutes and Kofi Shaw.
We started too poorly...
"We started too poorly, and the first half was painful," said Taylor. "As the game progressed, we showed what we could do and what we are capable of. It was a different side to us, and we stopped being soft.
"We took the game on and started coming out in individual moments in the game. We almost got a big reward, which would have been something to take from the game.
"But all of a sudden, there’s been a softness in terms of our all-round play and defensive moments. Those three goals we conceded were poor."
The goals we conceded were really frustrating...
"The goals we conceded were really frustrating," he said. "They’ve got some real quality on show, but there was a real shakiness to our defensive moments.
"We’ll assess certain aspects. We didn’t change anything at half-time. We just demanded that they put their bodies in front of the ball and the opposition.
"A couple of players did that, the substitutes did that, and the difference the team got from that is incredible."
Conceding three goals gives us too much to do...
"Conceding three goals gives us too much to do," said the manager. "All three goals are disappointing from our point of view. Even when the third one went in, we felt we were in a good position in the game. That’s the frustrating thing.
"We still believed and went at it. If that game goes on any longer, we might create a memorable moment."
O’Donkor was absolutely outstanding...
"In the second half, I thought O’Donkor was absolutely outstanding," he said. "That’s a real moment for him to put his hand up to be picked next week. In a performance-related game, he probably will start the next game if he has a good week of training.
"He also got his goal. Suddenly, the rest of the team fed off that energy."
