Manager gives verdict on Rochdale defeat
A 3-1 defeat away at Rochdale – Exeter City’s fifth loss on the bounce in all competitions – left Grecians manager Paul Tisdale feeling understandably dissatisfied with the result.
Exeter went behind to a Michael Rose free-kick at the end of the first half, but equalised seconds after the restart through Alan Gow – only for Graham Cummins and Andrew Tutte to net again for the Dale.
The Grecians looked particularly bright in patches, but were picked off by Rochdale and some decisive finishing – and the City boss will continue to identify the opportunities to improve and which areas need to ratcheting tighter.
“You wouldn’t be surprised if I said I’m disappointed; I’m always disappointed as I always believe we have a chance in any game,” said Paul. “We’re having a tough time – certain things we do aren’t connected, but we were okay today.
“We were in the game at the hour-mark, as we were at Peterborough and as we have been in other games recently. I know what we need to do and I know what we can do.
“One thing is having things not quite as you want; the next thing is understanding it and knowing what you want to do; the final thing is putting it into practice. We have some work to do – I’m well aware of that.
“We’ve had a rotten run but I didn’t dislike the players today – they always give everything, and we had good support. We showed a good reaction at half-time and for the first ten or 15 fifteen minutes in the second half we looked purposeful and spirited, but we conceded softly.”
One of the key moments earl y in the game was a hand-ball appeal that was turned down, as a squirmed cross appeared to strike a Rochdale arm in the penalty area.
And indeed, rather than taking too much stock from a decision that went against City, Tis was more intent on making sure the team address their own shortcomings to ensure they put in 90-minute performances that ultimately merit victory.
He continued: “The linesman said no and the fourth official said no. I thought their chap used his arm to pad the ball away.
“But I’m not going to use that as a reason for us losing the game. We have to be one or two goals better and if we are going to be one or two goals better, then we ride those things. It’s not my style about those things too often and I’m not going to do it again today.
“I thought it was a good penalty shout, but we need to look at other areas of our game that we can affect.”