Ben Purrington believes individual mistakes proved costly in Bristol Rovers' 2-0 defeat to Grimsby Town in Sky Bet League Two.
The Gas came into the contest with plenty of confidence, topping the table with four straight victories, but the Mariners netted twice in the first half through Kieran Green and Géza Dávid Turi to hold a healthy lead over the Pirates.
Steve Evans' men have displayed plenty of character in both boxes this term. However, they could not find a way back into the contest in the second half, with Grimsby reducing the Gas to just three shots across the match, and the Gas also ending the game with ten men after Tommy Leigh's red card.
Speaking to the media after the match, Purrington reflected on the defeat and was disappointed with how the Gas conceded and the lack of scoring opportunities.
A DIFFICULT DAY AT THE OFFICE
“Obviously, when you're coming to places like Grimsby, you have to be solid. You have to get off to a good start. I mean, with the first goal, we put ourselves on the back foot and then you're chasing the game; it goes two, and it's a red card.
“It's just cumulative errors that obviously give you no chance to win a game of football. That's where it comes down to. I think the first goal is very disappointing, and then it gives them that leg up. I mean, it's a really tough place to come. We knew that before we came, and we don't help ourselves with the way we start the game."
INDIVIDUAL MISTAKES PROVING COSTLY
“You win four on the bounce, everyone's confident, everyone's playing well, we look good as a team, and when you come to these away games, you have to have that little bit of grit and that work ethic to run over at the opposition like you do every week.
“They've got a good stride, they've got good players, and they've punished us. Individual mistakes have probably cost us today.”
STRUGGLED TO CREATE CHANCES
"When you look at our chances created in the last four or five games, it's been through the roof, and then you come here. I don't think we even had a shot on target, and the goalkeeper probably didn't make a save, which is hard to take. We’ll have to reflect on that, and as a group we'll have to bounce back because that's all we can do.”
LOOKING TO PUT IT RIGHT
"We've got another away game, so it's an easy chance next Saturday to put it right. It's nice when you get these games to put it right; it's not as if we’ve got to dwell on it for a few weeks now. It’s next Saturday; we can work all week.
“We can regroup, look at what went wrong. I mean, if you get a win next week, obviously, the mood changes again; it's just one game of football. But yeah, obviously it's the manner of it that was very disappointing today.”
MOVING FORWARD
“It hurts over the weekend. Everyone's down. It gives you a very bad weekend for everyone around you; they’ll be in a bad mood as well. So, obviously it hurts us, and it hurts us individually. But then you have to move on because that's all you can do.
“There are 46 games throughout the season, and obviously, the more you can do, the better chance you’ve got of being up there, so that's all we can do.”
