Matt Taylor rues naivety and inexperience from Bristol Rovers as Gas are beaten at Blackpool..by Daniel Hargraves.ichef.bbci.co.uk/onesport/cps/800/cpsprodpb/60F4/production/_131902842_matttaylor.pngMatt Taylor has admitted that his Bristol Rovers team suffered from inexperience and naivety at times in their 3-1 defeat at Blackpool on Saturday afternoon.
The Gas couldn't do much to prevent themselves going behind as former Rovers man Ollie Norburn produced a stunning strike from distance to open the scoring on 21 minutes. However, the response from the visitors was decent as they found themselves level again just four minutes later as John Marquis bundled home a rebound from a corner.
Taylor's side made a pleasing account of themselves for the remainder of the first half but suffered a damning blow by conceding a second within the first minute of the second half to give themselves plenty of work to do.
A chance for Aaron Collins as he was threaded through on goal by Antony Evans was the pick of the Rovers chances in the second half but Blackpool were able to find the crucial next goal through Jordan Rhodes to put the result beyond doubt.
Speaking post-match, Taylor declared: "We were pleased to be level at half-time. A great strike from their player to get them ahead and then a well-worked set-piece allowed us to be level at half-time and then another goal out of nothing, the second goal and that was probably where our game was too often throughout the course of the afternoon. A bit of inexperience, a bit of naivety. Not quite doing the basics first and foremost.
"I don't want to be too harsh on players involved in certain moments because it's always a collective but we have to understand the magnitude of those moments."
On conceding the second goal, the Gas boss added: "We started to gain a bit of foothold and a bit of field position which left us open to a counter-attacking moment which we didn't defend well enough again. We got into some dangerous positions and didn't work their 'keeper enough in that second half period, certainly when we were behind.
"They sat a little bit deeper as the game went on but we weren't able to force the issue often enough. I thought Luke Thomas, who was industrious all afternoon and a threat, we didn't quite have enough in us to beat an opposition player with or without the ball.
"The frustration from my point of view, if we look back on who had the best attacking moments, we've probably had the majority. Probably more than the opposition.
"I don't think [Matt] Coxy's had too many saves to make but we've conceded three goals. That's a strange statement to say so there are certain areas that we need to improve pretty quickly, especially on the back of such a resolute performance at Bolton last week where we protected our box and our goal.
"But they were always going to be a different type of opposition today. They mix their game up really well. They've got a real platform top end of the pitch. We were never really comfortable and in control of the game but we were in the game and that's why that goal is a real killer."
ichef.bbci.co.uk/onesport/cps/800/cpsprodpb/B549/production/_131890464_shutterstock_editorial_14140289ez.jpgIt certainly wasn't Rovers' worst performance of the season, nowhere near, but it was another match where individual errors cost the Gas which is a tally that is starting to stack up.
Granted, Blackpool are another top side in this division going for promotion with Karamoko Dembele in particular a player in orange who certainly forced spectators to scratch their heads at times as to how he's playing in the third tier. However, it was some way off the performance produced last weekend to beat Bolton Wanderers 2-1 on their own patch, as pointed out by the manager, although back-to-back away wins at Bolton and Blackpool would've been some feat.
"I suppose the message coming out of the club is that this has happened too often this season," Taylor stated. "Those are the errors we have to cut out if we want to be serious or successful challenging towards the top half of this league table. The basics of football is defend your goal and if you have an opportunity to clear your lines, do so with a little bit of gusto to say, 'I'm responsible for that moment.' That second goal shortly after half-time was a real killer.
"I think that [consistency] seems to be a challenge. I know we talk about the potential of this group but that's difficult to turn potential into output when we have moments like that. There was a bit of naivety in our game today. A bit of inexperience in certain positions on that football pitch and that's ultimately cost us."
It doesn't get any easier for Rovers as they host league leaders next up on Boxing Day and there could be a few returnees and a couple of absences.
James Wilson missed out on the trip to Bloomfield Road with illness but will hopefully return in time for Portsmouth. Josh Grant took the veteran's place and had, despite the result, a solid afternoon but he himself could be a doubt after taking a whack on the ankle in the first-half.
On preparation for Boxing Day while having the chaos of Christmas and possible injuries, Taylor insisted: "We don't have to prepare, it's the biggest game of the season. The next one is always the biggest one. Boxing Day, a full house, league leaders. Players have to be and will be right up for it. It's a fantastic challenge. We'll see how Willo is going into that game, I think we missed a bit of his experience today.
"We'll assess Josh Grant who picked up an ankle injury as the game went on today. See how the bodies are, hopefully this hasn't taken too much out of us. I'm sure the biggest one will be the mental aspect will be the defeat and the manner of it. We've played our own part in that making and it's quickly going to be back to work tomorrow, just ourselves, and we can focus on what is the biggest game."
"Jack Hunt has a real chance, possibly for Boxing Day. He just needs to get through a couple more days of training.
"Luke McCormick I'm not so sure. He took a nasty whack on his ankle this week and he's been one of the ones struggling with a bit of illness. We need as many bodies as we can get but I think Jack Hunt will certainly play his part."
On Grant's performance as the right centre-back in the three, the Gas boss added: "I was pleased. Just before half-time he took that really nasty roll and you could see he was struggling at half-time so we wanted to give him as long as we possibly could in the second half. We'll see how the swelling is in the next few days. He could well be a risk for Boxing Day.
"It's a shame because he's probably had a stop-start time of late and this was a good opportunity. I was pleased with his performance. Generally, he was where he needed to be but his body seems to be one that's letting him down at the moment."