9:04am Monday 6th September 2010
By John Boyman
BASINGSTOKE Town manager Frank Gray was left fuming after seeing his side concede “two terrible goals” as they slipped to a second straight defeat.
Defender Matt Finlay was the unfortunate defender at fault for both of Braintree’s goals, with Sean Marks and Jamie Guy taking full advantage as the visitors left the Camrose with a 2-0 win.
Saturday’s result saw Town fall to 15th in the Blue Square South table – already six points off the play-off spot that is the club’s stated aim for the season.
Gray was without central defender Jay Gasson, who was attending a family wedding – but refused to offer his absence as an excuse.
“Jay was missed but he would probably have played instead of Sean Hankin and both of the goals came from Matt Finlay’s side so he might not have made much difference,” the manager said. “Our basic defending was not good enough for either of the goals, it’s as simple as that.
“We cannot keep defending like that. We have defended well up until now this season and that is the really disappointing thing about it.”
In an attempt to get his goal-shy team to create more opportunities, Gray reverted to playing two strikers. This paid off as Town had more chances than they have done in many games – but they were unable to take them, with Greg Draper and Stuart Lake being culpable of particularly bad misses.
“We tried to play more people in attack today and still did not score,” the manager said. “We have still only scored when David Pratt has been up front on his own.
“We wanted to get more people forward at home and we did that but I would rather that we had one up front and were solid at the back, like we have been. We just need to get the balance right.
“We have not played that badly today but have got to do better than that defensively. It is alright to play football but there is more to it than that. You have got to earn the right to win games, win your individual battles.”
See The Monday Gazette for a full report and more pictures.
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