Cheltenham Town manager Paul Buckle's views after the 1-0 FA Cup second round defeat by Dover Athletic:
I’m bitterly disappointed, I’m disappointed for the supporters and the board as this was a golden opportunity to get in the third round there’s no doubt about it.
We were at home and got a positive result against Oxford and stopped the rot in terms of conceding too many goals and it was there for us, we trained right the boys looked good but it never happened for us. We didn’t have enough to go win the game, we looked to score that first goal, we had chances at 0-0 and at half time, we changed to 4-4-2, we got into right areas but we just didn’t have that killer touch that was needed. In the end it was a good finish and it’s gone through (Matt) Richards’ legs to go in, but you know we’re obviously bitterly disappointed.
I think it was a pretty even game, I don’t think they had sustained pressure I don’t think we had sustained pressure, we started the best in the second half and there was a spell when I thought we could have scored. But the runs weren’t into the areas we needed to be, sometimes when the ball comes In it looks like a bad ball but you’ve got to make the runs and we didn’t do that, they got out to easy it was just too easy in the end. We weren’t positive enough and with enough finishers around the six yard box they should be smashed into the goal, they should be put away if we want to progress. We always left them a lifeline.
I’m frustrated but I’m realistic, we’ll be in tomorrow, we’d have been in tomorrow if we’d have won 6-0 today because if you look at the goals against column and if you look at where we are in the league we’re coming in every day. I’m not silly enough to think if we hadn’t won today that the problems would have just been gone.
Because we’re half way through the season we’re in the position we are because we deserve to be there’s a lot of hard work to be done on the training field to try to get us winning and doing the right thing and trying to get us up the league.
I don’t know if it’s belief, it’s the fitness levels and I spoke about that at the weekend I don’t think we looked fit enough near the end of the game you’re looking for the league team to drive on in the last 20 and really kick on, we couldn’t seem to do that. Fitness levels need to improve and our understanding needs to improve and we need to be more clinical in the box, we did actually get into good areas into the attacking third today it’s just the understanding of scoring good goals, we did it well against Oxford.
I know they hit the post and FA Cup games are always entertaining they’re the underdogs heading towards their fans there’s always going to be a bit of pressure , it wasn’t a game where I felt I had to make major changes, they’re going to have chances but so did we and it was the team that took that chance that would kick on in the cup and unfortunately it wasn’t us today.