Hurst: 2-0’s a Dangerous Scoreline Saturday, 29th Sep 2018 18:38 Boss Paul Hurst felt there were positives to be taken from Town’s 2-2 draw at Birmingham despite allowing their 2-0 half-time lead to slip. “You’ve heard it many times, 2-0 is a dangerous scoreline,” Hurst said. “We knew that they’d come on and try and push forward. “Ironically, I think we did start the second half well for a couple of minutes and it looked like we weren’t just going to sit back, which is always a danger. “But we conceded from their first attack of the second half. Jota’s picked up an area, we’d spoken about that, we don’t get round on the cover well enough and it’s a well-timed ball and he takes it well. “And then you know you’re going to have to ride it out. I thought we did that and then the second goal we’re disappointed with, it’s a mistake and we were punished. “But at that stage the crowd are really up, I think they had an attack pretty much straight after and the game was really to-ing and fro-ing but we weren’t just settling for a point. “In the end, after the sending off, we happily take the point, although we still had a break with Freddie and won the corner. “Positives to take, there are, but stood in there at half-time 2-0 up, you’re clearly hopeful of getting that victory.” Hurst had no complaints regarding the freekick which led to Birmingham’s second goal, which was given for a high boot by Jonas Knudsen. “No, it looks high,” he said. “I think there was one in the first half where the lad’s done a diving header and play was pulled up. I think it might even have been below my head height so I’m not sure that would have been a freekick. “I think Jonas is perhaps a bit naive and I’m not sure he quite saw the player behind him, so that’s a frustration. “You can see Gerks is struggling with the sun, you can see that clearly back on the video, but unfortunately at times that’s what goalkeepers have to deal with.” He admitted it was frustrating to concede another goal from a set piece having appeared to have tightened up on that front in recent weeks. “It is, but I have seen a lots of Birmingham and they are a big threat and they did look a threat today but at the same time I thought we defended quite a few of them pretty well,” he added. “They’re always going to win some headers, we cleared one off the line and they hit the post but we put bodies on the line. “Even that one, I thought we’d got away with it and I don’t think it could have gone anywhere else except where it did, but it did. “Then it was a case of what was going to happen next and thankfully we stood strong and still had a threat. “Freddie Sears has looked sharp all week, I said that in the press conference and I thought he was going to get his reward but it was just behind him and just clipped his heel rather than his side foot which would have put us in front.” Hurst felt that Birmingham’s first goal coming so soon after half-time was a key moment: “It certainly gave them a lift, of course it did. The crowd were a little bit disappointed at half-time. “I’m sure a lot of them were coming here today expecting to get their first home victory and there were a few boos, not massive boos, at half-time. “And then that [goal came] early in the second half and that gives people that belief and a lift but I genuinely think the lads can take some credit from how they stood up to it at the end. “Where we’re at, some teams could have gone under quite easily and I didn’t feel that. I saw some leadership out on the pitch, which I was pleased about. “It’s the second week in a row that we’ve taken a point and moved up a place. I’m not getting carried away with that, we’re still not in a position where we want to be, but it’s better than going the other way.” Hurst said the mood in the dressing room was more akin to one after a defeat than an away draw. “There’s some deflated people in there in one sense,” he continued. “But, and I know it wasn’t for a really long period, but then we went down to 10 men and I think the players in some ways see that as well. “The bombardment with the freekicks and things, we stood up to it, some last-ditch defending admittedly but we’ve said, ‘Yes, be frustrated, but at the same time that’s three games in a row that we’ve drawn, our best little run and there were some pleasing aspects of the performance’.” He says the players remain positive, both in terms of mood and approach to games, despite the position: “We speak to the players and the message is to keep going. You need strong characters, naturally. “I thought we started the game nervously but as soon as we put our first bit of passing together that seemed to give the players confidence. “I’ve watched a lot of Birmingham and I think as soon as we understood we could pass the ball without them pressing us too intently we settled down into the game. “We scored a first goal, there were a few things within it that are exactly what we’re looking for. Then, ironically for what threat they’ve carried at set plays, we scored ourselves. “It’s more frustration, I don’t get the impression - and I know people might look and say, ‘You’re 2-0 up and you still don’t win a game’ and I get that - but I don’t think that’s having an impact on the players not wanting the ball and working hard. “So hopefully, and we’ll need that on Tuesday night playing against a Middlesbrough team with vast experience, again another team that carry a massive threat from set plays with the size of some of their players.” Town have now reached that traditional 10-game marker point in the season by which time teams can reasonably begin to be assessed. Asked whether he feels his 22-placed team ought not to be judged quite yet, he responded: “I think you’ve got to make a judgement. There’s things I know myself that need to happen. “And hopefully will in time but at the same time, we haven’t lost as many games as some others have. “The flip side again, you can look at it two ways, it’s another game where we’ve had to withstand some pressure at different points, but I don’t think the team are easily beaten and we’re competitive, which you’ve got to be. That’s this league, we know that. “So we’re not still quite in the place that we want to be, but if you look maybe at the team that’s slipped below us today [Millwall], look at where they were last season. “That just highlights the challenge of the league again. You can’t take anything for granted, we know we’ve changed some things around and maybe there are a few things that don’t feel like they’re going for us. But you can’t feel sorry for yourself, you get on with your job and keep working hard.” Birmingham boss Garry Monk praised his side's spirit for their fightback. “[We showed] fantastic character, and quality and belief to come back from 2-0 down at half-time," he said. “And then to do enough in that 45-minute period, with four minutes added on, to have the chances to win the game and we had chances in the first half, credit to the players. “Unfortunately we conceded two really poor goals from our point of view. “To be 2-0 down is very hard to respond but I have to give credit to the players."
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