Matt Taylor was left pleased with the test his players had been put through after coming away from Truro City with a 0-0 draw in the second pre-season friendly.
The City manager admitted that his side lacked a bit of quality when attacking, which is why they were not able to beat the Southern League Premier Division side on a solid pitch at Treyew Road. However, it was the aggression new centre-backs Tom Parkes and Warren showed, along with the rest of the defensive unit, that pleased the boss.
“It was a proper game of football,” said Matt. “I have just said to my centre halves and my defensive unit, they have probably had to deal with more aerial balls than we will have to all pre-season.
“They (Truro) had a big centre forward so they certainly put the ball down our throats but I was pleased with that. You play a lot of pre-season games and you will come out relatively comfortable.
“My boys knew they were in a game and they had to defend when they needed to. We were just bereft of a little bit of quality, certainly in the final and middle third of the pitch.
“We never really tidied the ball well enough to get it in a position to deliver. It could have been the pitch; it could have been on the back of a hard week’s work. I won’t read too much into it because I know I have got the players who can produce quality.
“The attitude and application was spot on in the way they went about the game. It is another 45 minutes under the belt and I hope they have come through it with no injuries – that is the main thing at this stage of the season.”
Truro have had a turbulent few days with manager Paul Wilkinson leaving to take over as boss of League One side Bury and being replaced with former Plymouth Argyle assistant Paul Wotton hours before the game. However, despite all that, they provided a strong opposition and Matt was pleased with that.
“Full credit to Truro,” he said. “They were organized and they played a certain way, but I was pleased with how, certainly the first hour of the game, we stood up to the physical side of it because, let’s be honest, a lot of League Two football is about the physical aspect. It was probably more beneficial than a four or five nil win.”
“The manager (Paul Wotton) took over 10 hours ago and the players wanted to impress him and rightly so. A manager comes into a football club and the players are desperate to impress. There were a lot of trialists out there as well. I am sure Truro will have a successful season this season and I am really pleased with the test they gave us.”