Midfielder Jack King pinpointed a disappointing first half as the catalyst for Saturday’s loss to Fleetwood Town.
Ashley Hunter chipped Luke Daniels to opening the score for the hosts on 16 minutes, before former Iron striker Bobby Grant doubled their lead 13 minutes later. Paddy Madden did give United hope when he scored from the penalty spot with 20 to go, but the teams late pressure came to nothing.
“Ultimately the first half has cost us,” King told The Iron Player HD.
“The second half we probably had more possession than we have in any game since the two managers have taken over.”
SUBSTITUTION: Vice-captain Jack King was forced to replace skipper Stephen Dawson with just over twenty minutes on the clock.
Having not featured all too often in recent weeks, King was happy to get back out there helping the team.
“It was nice to get out there, but it wasn’t the circumstances I’d have liked to with (Stephen) Dawson coming off. I thought I had a few nice touches on the ball and it’s just nice to be playing.
“We passed the ball about well in the second half and looked like we could get back into the game, but it just wasn’t to be.
“If you want to be successful in this league you have to learn from your mistakes and put them right. The last four games we’ve been doing the basics right, and that is ultimately what has given us the results.” He mentioned.
Despite a poor first half showing United came out a different team in the second period, a showing that King believes proves the spirit the Iron have.
“It’s easy at 2-0 down at half time to throw the towel in and say the games over, but with the spirit we’ve got in the dressing room nobody believed we were out of it. I don’t think Fleetwood would have had too many complaints if we’d have walked off with a point each in the end.
“They’re obviously going to be slightly fresher (having not played in mid-week). They’ve brought new players in and they had an effect.
“It was a tricky pitch out there with lots of bobbles, especially in the middle, but we’re not using that as excuse. We know we weren’t quite at it in the first half, and that’s what has cost us.” He recalled.
Despite the loss, King believes there are positives to take from the game, but plenty to work on ahead of Saturday’s match at Glanford Park with Oldham Athletic.
“We have to take the positives. We dominated the second half and we had numerous chances, but we probably weren’t quite good enough with our decision making in the final third.
“We’ve got a week to work on things, and then we can go again against Oldham on Saturday.”
See much more from Andy Dawson, Jack King and David Mirfin on The Iron PlayerHD.