Matt Taylor believes that the "damage was done" in the first half as City fell to defeat in Colchester.
Chatting after the 3-1 loss, the manager said:
"What hurt us most was the manner in which we conceded tonight, whether it was against the run of play, or the way they hurt our back line- all the goals were preventable.
"When we got back into the game at 2-1, we had a goal wrongly disallowed against Sam Nombe, but then the quick slap-in-the-face came when they made it 3-1 and it took the game away from us.
"I can't be too hard on the lads tonight, but they need to know how and why we conceded the way we had tonight."
The manager has also praised the reaction from his players after the game.
"I'm pleased with the lads. I didn't have to say much in the changing room. They won't let it de-rail what we're trying to do. We know we'll be beaten on occasions, and tonight is a real learning curve for them."
Check out all of the manager's interview below👇
"I can't be too hard on the lads tonight, but we have to know why we were so defensively poor tonight."
— Exeter City (@OfficialECFC) November 23, 2021
Matt Taylor's thoughts after City suffered their first defeat since August at the hands of @ColU_Official this evening 👇#ECFC #OneGrecianGoal pic.twitter.com/n4CYZRzQp6