Cook: We Keep Giving Teams Legs Up
Saturday, 30th Oct 2021 18:10

Town boss Paul Cook felt his side would have deserved a point from their 2-1 defeat to League One leaders Plymouth at Home Park but admits the Blues were once again guilty of giving the opposition a leg up by conceding at a crucial moment when they were in the ascendency.

Luke Jephcott was allowed to level a minute before the break at a time when Town were comfortably in control at 1-0 up following George Edmundson’s goal.

Five minutes after the restart, one-time Town loanee Conor Grant scored Argyle’s second with the Blues missing three very good chances late on.

Asked whether his team deserved something from the match, Cook said: “Yes, I think the biggest thing was the goal before half-time again. We’d got ourselves in a good situation. Plymouth test every side that come here, they’re a good side that are having a great season.

“And you have to get in at half-time, you have to. You’re 1-0 up, you have to get in. We gave silly free-kick away after silly free-kick, you’ve got great delivery [from Plymouth] and eventually something’s going to drop, and unfortunately for us it did. And they’re the moments we’re struggling to manage.

“I think the the disappointment of the second goal probably triggered us into our best spell of the game and we’ve created three big, big chances and we have to score. If we’d have left today with the result 2-2, our fans would have been a little bit more jovial, jubilant, whatever you want to say, happier.

“But the reality is that what are our problems at three o’clock are still our problems at five and it’s my job and the staff’s to look at, to come away and see what we’ve done well, and we can open most teams up in the league, but that solidity at the other end has to be better. It’s not right, and especially the timing of the goals.”

Reflecting on the late chances which Kyle Edwards, Macauley Bonne and Rekeem Harper ought to have put away, Cook said: “The lads win and lose together. It was a big League One game today, a great atmosphere in the stadium.

“We feel we’ll play our part at some point because we travel to do that. Plymouth have got some good players going forward, they score goals and they were a threat. But the goals we give away aren’t good enough.

“The chances we create are good chances that we have to work to get and at the opposite end it’s not so [much the case]. Bitterly disappointing day but there’s no time for anything other than to look forward.”

He added: “I think Plymouth are doing great, I’d like to think we could go on a run again and that could see us do better.

“There’s a long, long way to go, we showed some really good signs in the game today and especially when we move the ball from side to side and get full-backs in we can open teams up.

“But unfortunately we didn’t get that goal which would have seen us return to Suffolk with, in my opinion, a fully deserved point but unfortunately that’s how it is.”

Cook found himself without Janoi Donacien and Wes Burns due to illness and Sone Aluko, who suffered a knock in training.

“Aluko was Thursday, Janoi and Wes Burns were this morning,” he said. “As you can imagine, it’s not good for preparation, but there are no excuses.

“I’m not going to go down that road, we love preparing properly for the game. We’ve had two lads who haven’t trained Thursday and Friday and have been sick and can’t get on the pitch, Conor Chaplin never trained all week with a back spasm problem, and Aluko pulled out on Thursday.

“Groin, little problem Thursday afternoon, so we travelled here with no right side Saturday morning, so it wasn’t ideal, but that’s football lads, isn’t it?

“It’s not an excuse, we’ve got a good squad. Does that stop us conceding a goal before half-time, no? That’s my biggest gripe about today.

“The stadium’s up again [as a result of the goal], the euphoria in the stadium’s good, we don’t let the dust settle in the crowd, we don’t allow the Portsmouth performance to grow again, we keep giving teams legs up. And at the minute it’s a habit that we do far too often.”

As a result of those absentees, Hayden Coulson returned from his thigh injury in an unfamiliar right midfield role.

“I didn’t really have a choice, Kayden Jackson’s only just returned from Covid for the day, we were very limited in our options,” Cook continued.

“I thought Wolfie did smashing as a stay-at-home right-back, we didn’t really have any choice. Hayden did his best in the game, it’s always going to be difficult to come in in an unnatural position.

“It is what it is, but for us the disappointment is not taking anything from the game.”

Will any of those who missed out today be back for Tuesday’s trip to Wycombe? “As you can imagine, we’re just going try and get back and have a look at what’s available and see what we can do because we are being a little bit stretched at the minute, that’s for sure.”

Plymouth boss Ryan Lowe was delighted with the three points, which he felt his side deserved.

“We are pleased. We are just going about our business the right way. It doesn't matter who they are we have to respect them all,” he told Plymouth Live.

“We have to put the game plan together to make sure we can come out with results and performances. At the moment we are doing that and long may it continue.

“I thought we were well worthy of a couple of goals, certainly, against a tough team - a team that played a different way.

“They got in our faces, they got after us a little bit, and we were expecting that, but with the home crowd here we want to make sure we put on a show for our fans and I think we certainly did that.”

Regarding having gone behind, he added: “In terms of the lads, when they concede a goal like that, they know they have to flick that switch, if you like, and let's go again, let's keep doing what we are doing.

“When we move the ball fast and accurate then we do look a good team. If we continue to keep doing that then the chances are we will create and score goals.”

Reflecting on Jephcott's equaliser, he said: “I thought the ball off Adam Randell was fantastic. From that pocket - an eight position if you like - he has whipped it right in.

“Joe [Edwards] has made that run that he makes numerous times and Jephs robbed it off him, did he? It was a good job he wasn't offside, I wouldn't have been happy about that!

“The momentum then swings and they are obviously a little bit disappointed. We had to make sure we went out for the second half and did what we did.

“We got a goal, and I felt we should have had another one, but, look, I'm not complaining. It's three points and another good win.”

Photo: TWTD

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shakytown added 01:16 - Oct 31

Its not losing its the way we are losing. Tactically inept at best and there seems to be no heart for a fight when we go behind. Why on earth would ant manager with a record as good as cooks not change things up when Plymouth had clearly worked out how to nullify everything we do. Bonne was so out of the game for most of it he might as well have had a deckchair and watched. we must adapt with other teams tactics or we will never get out of this league.

shakytown added 01:16 - Oct 31

chepstowblue added 08:42 - Oct 31

RGP....People aren't clapping because they're happy, it's a sense of duty. Anybody that claps at Portsmouth but not at Plymouth, or is mystified why real fans applaud when we've lost is not wanted by any club. I saw a vacuous group yesterday who need to grow up quickly or stop attending games until they've gotten through puberty. We have a growing band of supporters who only clap when we're winning, and that is the epitome of pathetic support. A day of square pegs in round holes on the pitch. The less said about Woolfenden, Penney, and the use of Coulson wide right. The squad has so much more to offer. When the shackles come off we're very decent, but we see it too infrequently. Still time, but getting less likely with each passing week.

jas0999 added 11:01 - Oct 31 Agree with him, but as manager of the football club it's his responsibility to resolve! He seems unable to do so in the bigger games or when things go wrong.
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DavefromWatford added 11:02 - Oct 31 I agree with Chepstow the less said the better about those three decisions. why didn`t KVY play is he injured? He is a proper R/b unlike poor woolfie & Coulson should have played L/B with Edwards & Celina as wide men. Maybe given the absentees PC could have gone 442 & played piggot alongside Bonne. I hope Wes & JD are ok for Tuesday night (we need them).
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Orraman added 11:19 - Oct 31

Why can't we hold on to a lead? It's all down to game management. We always start at 100mph and inevitably score early but instead of calming down and slowing the game it's Cook's plan to drive on for more. Now I would never suggest going the full McCarthy and dropping everyone back to defend a 1 goal lead for the rest of the game but surely the team need to be a bit more pragmatic and just think a bit more defensively, certainly during the last 5 or 6 minutes before half time and full time which appear to be our Achilles Heel.
Unfortunately game management is something we will never have with Cook in charge. He is totally one dimensional. Always 4-2-3-1 never attempting change to nullify opposition. Always the same substitutions Burns for Aluko or Celina for Edwards or vice versa. Always Plan A all the time. Other clubs have worked us out - they don't have to wait for team sheets.
We have a great set up now. New owners who really seem keen to invest in the club, a great CEO in Mark Ashton who has secured some great signings, the stadium beginning to look good again, a fantastic support home and away, everything in fact apart from a totally inept, egotistic manager who, along with coaching staff way out of their depth are preventing us from enjoying the success our owners and ourselvesdeserve

Bluroo added 11:50 - Oct 31 Clearly Cook planned for a point and would have been happy with a point - which is a disappointing as when we went looking for a goal in the last 20 mins we were ripping them apart and missed 3 absolute sitters. Would prefer to see some more ambition from Cook. Think we could have won this game with the right approach.
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