Matt Taylor was disappointed after Bristol Rovers lost 4-0 to Wigan Athletic in Sky Bet League One.
The Gas had been good at The Memorial Stadium this season, collecting back-to-back clean sheets in wins over Northampton Town and Cambridge United, but conceded twice in each half.
Joe Hugill netted a brace before strikes from Thelo Aasgaard and Luke Chambers put the game beyond the Pirates.
The manager discussed the game, the style of play, Josh Griffiths’ mistake and lessons to learn.
It was a relatively bright start from both teams
"We’re in a lot of pain," said Taylor. "It was a relatively bright start from both teams, then set-pieces and a couple of counter-attacks went against us. It just totally derailed us.
"Then we saw a side to ourselves that we didn’t like, and we lost our understanding of the game.
"Even at half-time when we changed shape, we just couldn’t quite connect the team to what was needed to get any element of control. We had no control in any unit, personnel or position on that pitch.
"Credit to the opposition but we were too far short."
The two goals turned it into a really painful second half
"The biggest challenge as any person is to stay true to yourself in difficult times," he said. "We tried as hard as we possibly could to regroup and reset after making a couple of changes at half-time. But the two goals turned it into a really painful second half."
Defensively we have been relatively strong this season
"Defensively we have been relatively strong this season," he said. "Going into this game we’ve conceded four goals all season and then they’ve all come at once today. That set-piece aspect was a real weakness today.
"We didn’t get there first or second, the ball was landing in and around our six-yard box. We’ve got good size and personnel, we’ll have to identify who was thinking the right thing at that moment.
"Unfortunately, we weren't able to get away from that defensive fragility of those two moments."
Griffiths has been outstanding
"Josh is a quality goalkeeper, but he’s young and he’ll learn from today," said the boss. "He’ll hopefully come back in a better condition and a better shape.
"Sometimes you’ve got to go through a little bit of pain to get to where you want to be in your career.
"He’s been outstanding and gained us enough points to have more than enough credit in the bank for us to accept that it wasn’t just him."
We might need a quicker or stronger default
"You have to learn from it because we have to have a better plan in place for the first couple of moments that went against us," said Taylor. "Then, when we are behind at home, there’s greater expectation and pressure.
"Pressure does funny things to people, especially young people and footballers in the game. We might need a quicker or stronger default and a better understanding of that. That’s always my responsibility as a manager, but then you don’t want to come away from your playing style too soon just because a goal goes against you.
"We will be behind in home games this season. What can't happen is what happened today."
