Manager Mark Robins felt there was little difference between his side and Crewe Alexandra.
The Iron lost 2-0 to their Cheshire-based counterparts thanks to two goals in the space of 60 second half seconds.But for the first goal (a terrific strike from Greg Leigh), and a lapse moments later, Robins felt his side matched Crewe and offered the better chances in the game.
“There was nothing in it,” he stated, speaking to The Iron Player.
“All that was in it was a wonder strike which 99 times out of 100 he misses and on this occasion it’s gone in between the post and the stanchion in the top corner.
“It put us on the back foot. They got one (another goal) straight after that and it’s killed the game. Apart from that, there was nothing in the game.
“We got forward into good positions and better positions. We worked the ball into good areas and it’s just the way it’s gone today.
“We could have probably played until midnight tonight and not scored, but we’ve got into good areas. Again there’s not been enough quality in the penalty area.
“When it’s there we need to be a little bit quicker and more aggressive to go and get a finish.”
United have arguably had a lot of success in front of goal since the arrival of Robins and Ned Kelly, with the insistence from the man in charge that there’s no need to panic at the strikers’ form in front of goal.
“Those are the areas where we have got to be more clinical,” he admitted.
“If you go through the season, team’s go through phases in a season. It’s just our turn to have a little bit of a blip. There was little difference between the sides and it was all about the first goal.
“There’s no need to panic.
“There’s a lot of food for thought – that’s the best way of putting it. We’ve got a week now before Sheffield United, with a week’s break after it because Bradford City have drawn.
“It gives us a little bit of time to do a little bit of work, but also gives us time to prepare better for our next fixture.
“We need it (the break). It’s been an incredible time. We’ve gone from one game to the next and it’s great if you’re winning games and then if you’re not winning games, there’s a good opportunity to put that right. But there are also bad things from that.”
That led the manager to talk about Tom Hopper, who missed out through an injury which he has been carrying for almost two months.
“We’ve lost Tom for a couple of weeks with a broken toe,” he continued.
“He’s played eight games with a broken toe and done his best. He’s just not able to carry on, so we now have to give him time to recover and for it to heal because he cannot train and it’s having a negative impact on his performances.
“He’s done fantastically well and it just shows you the character he’s got. Not just him, Neal Bishop has the start of a hernia so we’ve got wear and tear on one or two of the players.
“We’ve got to make sure we are strong and solid and get through.”
He added: “We’ve got players chomping at the bit to play and I’ve got to look at it now to see how we’re going to keep the ball out the back of the net and hopefully getting the balance between that, playing the way we want to play and taking the chances that we create.”