YOUTH: We have to defend better

“Obviously we are very disappointed with the result,” he said. “Again it’s a situation where we’ve taken the lead but we haven’t been able to defend it.

“That has been a bad habit of ours lately and it has cost us in this game. It’s even more frustrating because we’re getting ahead in games and we’re looking quite strong. This was one where possession wise, and with chances created, it probably looks quite good for us. Unfortunately there is only one stat which counts and that’s the final result.”

“It was a night where it didn’t go for us,” he agreed. “We hit the woodwork four times and we threatened with crosses and balls into the box. However, at the risk of repeating myself, you have to defend your goal better or life will always be difficult.

“We left the door open a bit for their third goal, because we were pushing for an equaliser, but we conceded the second from a set piece and that is disappointing for us. The lads were gutted in the dressing room because this is another new experience for most of them. They wanted to go through, so it becomes part of the learning curve they’re currently experiencing.

“We played some decent football, so there are always positives to take, but at the moment we won’t see much further than the result. We come back to the fact that if you don’t defend well enough you just don’t win games.

“We aren’t looking for excuses but we are missing players like Kyle Dempsey and Connor Thomson at the moment. They have that level of experience, which adds an edge, but we should be able to cope better even with them out of action. 

“It’s now a case of dusting ourselves down and getting ready to go again for the home game against Bury on Saturday. A good performance and a win would lift the group so that’s what we’ll be going out there to do.”

United - Brass, Chisholm, Marshall, White, Douglas, Scott, Hodgson, Hammell, Blackburn, Elliott (Moyes 73), Brough. Subs - Eccles, Rudd, Dickson, Meagan.

Goal – Hodgson (21 pen)