Grecians boss reacts to Morecambe point
EXETER CITY manager Paul Tisdale commended his players on getting back on the points trail in Sky Bet League 2 with last night's point at the Globe Arena against Morecambe.Jayden Stockley's memorable debut strike drew the Grecians level after a debatable penalty offered the home side a route to go in front towards the start of the second half.
"It was a very fair performance," Paul said. "We made a lot of changes with the games coming thick and fast, but I thought that we played particularly well. We went behind in a bitterly disappointing way; it was one of those contentious penalty decisions where the ball hit the hand, but I'm pleased with the way the team played. We finished the second half strongly; we looked the team most likely to score, and came very close with Jayden's header against the bar and the corner which was cleared off the line. We've arrested the run of defeats, and that was important today.
"The players felt hard-done-by by a lot of the decisions. I didn't feel like that on the touchline, but then I was a long way away. They certainly feel hard-done-by by the offside goal in the first half, and with five minutes to go, Tom Nichols is certain that he should have got a penalty - he was pushed from inside the box and landed outside of it. I'm not sure that the assistant can make the decisions from the touchline; I thought that had ceased. It was one of those handball decisions; until the law is, if it hits the hand it's a penalty, then there's always that uncertainty. It's an absolute lottery, you just don't know where you stand with it. They guy blasted it about five yards away from Jordan Tillson, and it was impossible for him to jump without moving his hands. If the rule was that if it hits your hand, it's a penalty, we would be cursing our bad luck, not cursing the judgement of the referee.
"It was a good finish from Jayden, but he put in ninety-six minutes of hard work. He knew where to go on the pitch, and for someone to play a full game having not played for a while, I'm really pleased for him. It's almost a bit left to chance - you sign someone on loan, you hope that they knit in really well, but I thought he did very well today. He almost won it with the header that hit the crossbar with about five minutes to go.
"We've got three away games in eight days, so I have to be very shrewd with who I select. We have a deep squad with a lot getting back to full fitness, so I have to make the most of what I've got. I've explained it to them that it'll be a squad game for the next couple of weeks and months. I assume that they will all give a hundred per cent, play well and do their job. The point stops the run of defeats over the last month, and I'm happy about that, because we have been playing well."