Manager gives his take on Bournemouth defeat
Despite getting knocked out of the Capital One Cup by AFC Bournemouth, Exeter City manager Paul Tisdale was far from disappointed with his side.The Grecians defended resolutely in the first period, and created some great opportunities during the second period in particular against a side packed with players of plenty of quality including some ex-Premier League stars.
Goals came for the Cherries through a Scot Bennett own-goal, as he inadvertently diverted Junior Stanislas’s ball into the net, and a Dan Gosling effort from close-range.
And Tis complimented the team on their workrate and ability they showed against a team that was always going to be favourites.
“We played really well and worked incredibly hard,” said Paul. “We played to our strengths – we defended really well against a very attacking and talented team.
“We broke on them and we picked our performance up during the second half, and had three or four really good half-chances. We were worthy of a goal but I think it is testament to the way we defended and worked that their first goal came from an own-goal.
“But I’m really pleased with the way we worked and the way the supporters got behind the team pushed us on.”
Darryl Flahavan, in goal for Bournemouth, wasn’t tested quite as much as he might have been by Exeter despite some good openings – the end product was often wayward.
But Paul appreciated as well as anyone that working the goalkeeper isn’t as easy as it looks when you have put in a tireless shift.
“If you run about five 70 or 80 minutes and cover about five or six miles, with your heartbeat at 180 and in an anaerobic level of physical state – it’s not quite as easy as it looks to run 80 yards and hit a ball,” he explained.
“You can take the odd clip in isolation and say ‘he should have done better’ but when you have been chasing the ball for 70 or 80 minutes and then get a chance, it’s not quite as easy.
“I mentioned to the team at the end that we have to take our chances and work the ‘keeper more than we did, but they also know that I know that it’s not that easy when you’re absolutely down on your energy.”