Glyn Hodges was encouraged by the performance in defeat at Oxford United today after a game that could have been so different with more potency in front of goal.
Speaking after the 2-0 defeat at the Kassam Stadium, a game which ended with Oxford goalkeeper Jack Stevens as Man of the Match, Glyn said: “You sit there scratching your head with the amount of shots that we had on target. Their goalkeeper was inspirational and he was awarded Man of the Match, so that tells you about the pressure that we had them under. We had clear-cut chances that on another day would go in, so the positives were that we created a lot of chances against a side, for me, that were the best in this division by a country mile last season. If we were not creating the chances I would be more worried.
"In the last three games we have created chances and it’s only a matter of time before they start going in. I am happy with the reaction, but first and foremost I am disappointed with the defeat and disappointed with the manner of the goals we conceded. After the goals we took the game to them, but we should have been that way from the start.”
On the goals conceded and the positive reaction that followed, Glyn added: “With the first goal, Ben Heneghan pulled his hamstring trying to block and it has ended up in the back of the net. Then we didn’t react from the free-kick, which we should have done because we have shown them it, and it was a run that came from a long way. We changed things up, and some of the chances we created and the play in the final third was good.
"We changed the shape after the second goal, so that we could put a bit more pressure on them up the pitch. It worked and I expected them to change for the second-half, but they didn’t, and we were on the front foot. We had a lot of energy in key areas in that formation and we caused them problems, but the finishing wasn’t there today.”
Glyn said afterwards that top scorer Joe Pigott could be in contention to return for the next game at home to Lincoln after he missed today’s match with a foot injury. Click on the link below to watch Glyn’s post-match interview.