“We’ve done the same things today”: Lancaster City boss reflects on Cleethorpes Town defeat
Lancaster City’s manager summed up Saturday’s home defeat against Cleethorpes Town.
Jimmy Marshall felt it was a familiar story after watching his Lancaster City players suffer defeat to Cleethorpes Town on Saturday.
The Dolly Blues were beaten 2-0 at Giant Axe, where goals in each half from Callum Foster and Liam Hughes gave the visitors victory.
It also saw them become the new NPL Premier leaders, leapfrogging Redcar Athletic after their defeat at Hyde United.
Lancaster, meanwhile, dropped to 14th after their third defeat in four league games.
Speaking afterwards, Marshall told club media: “It’s just really disappointing with how much we’ve put into the game today.
“We’ve spoken in the last few weeks about being better in both boxes and, again, we’ve done the same things today.
“I thought for large parts of the game, we were pretty good. I thought we struggled in the first 20 minutes, then we changed shape to match them up.
“I thought we finished the first half stronger, started the second half stronger, but we know what they’re all about.
“They’re a big side back to front, they’re really industrious in midfield, they’re set up well and we knew it was going to be a tough game.
“I think that’s their 10th clean sheet so fair play to them, they’re tough to beat.
“Second half, when we’ve got entries into their box and the ball’s coming out and we’re having shots, they’re throwing their bodies on the line.
“To be fair, for the amount of territory and ball we had, I don’t really think we’ve troubled them enough and that’s been the story of our season so far.
“If you don’t take chances or create chances, you almost leave yourself open to a little bit of pressure at the other end.
“(I’m) Really disappointed with the first goal, it’s a clipped corner into the box and it’s a free header.
“We work on doing those things all week and then, all of a sudden, we’re on the back foot.
“In terms of the game, we’ve done some positive things but ultimately we’ve not done enough in both boxes and we’ve lost.”