Neal Ardley felt we lacked quality in the final third as we fell to defeat at Chesterfield but was upbeat about our overall performance.
Our six-match unbeaten run was brought to an end and we slipped out of the Vanarama National League’s play-off places courtesy of Gevaro Nepomuceno’s goal – the only one of the game.
But the boss wasn’t left downhearted by the display, feeling we got a lot of things right.
“I’m not disappointed with the performance,” said Ardley. “I thought we were by far the better team and played good stuff.
“Our crossing was poor today, though. Too many times we were in good positions but put the ball behind or into the goalkeeper’s hands.
“We need to take more risks in the final third. The patterns we work on get us through the first two and then it’s up to the lads to play with that freedom.
“I can’t fault the effort or cohesion, we just lacked the cutting edge and the quality.
"Too many of our matchwinners didn’t have the spark that makes a difference today.”
We’re swiftly back into action on Tuesday night when we travel to Woking and Ardley hopes for a response.
“I’ve told the players it’s all about bouncing back,” he revealed.
“The sign of a team that will have a good season is that they can take a defeat on the chin and bounce back in the next game.
“We work on what we do in the final third during training and that needs to come out in matches.”
Connell Rawlinson missed out with a calf injury but Ardley says he could be back in the reckoning come Tuesday evening.
“He felt it a bit on Thursday so we pulled him out of training on Friday because you don’t want to risk a calf,” he added.
“He said it was feeling a lot better because of that and he could be back in for Tuesday.”