United manager Mark Robins took plenty of positives from the Iron’s game on Saturday, despite the fact that they went down 1-0 to Notts County.
Throughout the match, the Iron played some attractive football and made a series of chances. However, they were made to pay for not taking them when County won and converted a late penalty.It was a game which left a bitter taste in the mouth for many Iron fans, as their team had looked good-value for three points throughout the majority of the match.
“We’ve just been mugged,” Robins declared, when asked how he would sum up the match by The Iron Player.
“We’ve made chances and haven’t taken any, and that’s a pity as you’re always liable to concede when you do that.
“Especially when you’re a team who has been conceding goals and losing games, you need to take your chances.
“But I thought the positivity was good, and some of the play was excellent.”
When beginning to assess the reasons behind the defeat a little more, Robins then honed in on the way in which United failed to convert any of the array of chances which they made.
The closest they came was arguably during the first-half when Gary McSheffrey hit the post with a bullet header, however, the likes of Paddy Madden and substitute Hakeeb Adelakun also had opportunities.
“I just thought that some of the finishing was a bit lacklustre,” he confessed.
“On another day, we win that game 4 or 5-0.
“But, in the end, some of the finishing was sloppy, and we conceded a penalty while we were still going and trying to win the game.”
Talking about the penalty in a little bit more depth, the boss admitted that he had no complaints over its award, after Bobby Olejnik brought down Ronan Murray.
The player had crept-in behind the United defence on a counter-attack, after Scunthorpe had committed men forward in search of a winner.
“It was a definite penalty,” he said.
“It’s just disappointing the way it came about, as again, it’s lazy-mindedness.
However, the manager did imply that there was little need for United fans to panic after the defeat, and reminded them of the way in which the team have grown in confidence over the last three or four games.
“We’re getting better all the time, and we will turn it around,” he declared.
See much more from Mark Robins, Andrew Boyce and Luke Williams on The Iron Player.