Walsall boss Darrell Clarke was disappointed with his side’s performance against Cambridge United on Tuesday night.
A penalty in each half saw the Saddlers fall to their first defeat since February at the hands of the U’s on what was a frustrating night at the Banks’s Stadium.
Clarke admitted his side didn’t do enough to take anything from the game. He was frustrated with the manner of which the goals were given away and was also disappointed with how his team played in possession.
“We were poor,” Clarke admitted.
“We had a lot of possession of the ball, the options that we’ve picked a lot of the time weren’t creating the problems that we normally create.
“I need to go back and analyse it straight after the game. We tried loads of different things and had plenty of the ball and not really many opportunities.
“You have to give Cambridge credit. We gave them the (first) goal, which is frustrating. We have to stop doing that at home.
“It gives them something to hold on and they get in their two banks of four, 10 men behind the ball and look to hit us on the counter attack.
“We struggled to break them down.
“I look at my performance and my team and we certainly didn’t do enough, which is disappointing.
“I said to my players after the game, now it’s about the reaction. We’ve had a lot of draws this season and a couple wins - there should be more wins on the board.
“But it’s how you react from these setbacks. It was always going to happen and the proof will be in the pudding come Saturday.”
Clarke is keen to see a reaction from his team when they take on Mansfield Town on Saturday and insists it is still early days and there are plenty of games and opportunities to pick up points.
"It's a long old season isn't it,” said Clarke. “we're early days into it.
"We're disappointed that we haven't got a couple more wins on board and disappointed with the performance tonight as a team.
"But you have to dust yourself down. Games are coming thick and fast and we can't feel sorry for ourselves too long.
"We have another game to go on Saturday, so let's look for that response.”
Walsall boss Darrell Clarke was disappointed with his side’s performance against Cambridge United on Tuesday night.
A penalty in each half saw the Saddlers fall to their first defeat since February at the hands of the U’s on what was a frustrating night at the Banks’s Stadium.
Clarke admitted his side didn’t do enough to take anything from the game. He was frustrated with the manner of which the goals were given away and was also disappointed with how they played in possession.
“We were poor,” Clarke admitted.
“We had a lot of possession of the ball, the options that we’ve picked a lot of the time weren’t creating the problems that we normally create.
“I need to go back and analyse it straight after the game. We tried loads of different things and had plenty of the ball and not really many opportunities.
“You have to give Cambridge credit. We gave them the (first) goal, which is frustrating. We have to stop doing that at home.
“It gives them something to hold on and they get in their two banks of four, 10 men behind the ball and look to hit us on the counter attack.
“We struggled to break them down.
“I look at my performance and my team and we certainly didn’t do enough, which is disappointing.
“I said to my players after the game, now it’s about the reaction. We’ve had a lot of draws this season and a couple wins - there should be more wins on the board.
“But it’s how you react from these setbacks. It was always going to happen and the proof will be in the pudding come Saturday.”
Clarke is keen to see a reaction from his team when they take on Mansfield Town on Saturday and insists it is still early days and there are plenty of games and opportunities to pick up points.
"It's a long old season isn't it,” said Clarke. “we're early days into it.
"We're disappointed that we haven't got a couple more wins on board and disappointed with the performance tonight as a team.
"But you have to dust yourself down. Games are coming thick and fast and we can't feel sorry for ourselves too long.
"We have another game to go on Saturday, so let's look for that response.”
You can watch Saturday’s game at Mansfield live on iFollow by purchasing a match pass for £10 here.