WHAT THE MANAGER SAID: Declan Caddell reaction as ‘flogged’ Crusaders lose to Portadown
Crusaders suffered a 3-0 home reverse to Portadown at Seaview – a third consecutive defeat in the Sports Direct Premiership, all without finding the net.
Here’s the post-match verdict from Crusaders manager Declan Caddell:
PERFORMANCE...
“We looked leggy, we looked tired, we looked five yards off it.
“The first 25 minutes I thought we were very good then you’re looking a response after conceding which we didn’t get.
“As the game went on we gradually looked more tired.
“As a coaching staff we’ve maybe got to look at that and work out what our workload was this week…did we work them too hard?
“It’s disappointing.
“Portadown were excellent today, they were hungry, they looked sharp and caused us problems.
“Three-nil could’ve been more, that’s the sad reality.”
He added: “Overall today, disappointed in the result, disappointed in the performance, disappointed in the second half.
“We were way off it.
“Crusaders is built on hard work…always has been.
“When you’re on the sideline looking across and thinking ‘they just look flogged’ that’s the disappointing thing for me.
“It’s something as a staff we’ll look at over the week.
“The first two, three games we out-worked teams, we out-fought teams."
GOAL ISSUES FOR AND AGAINST...
“I think this season that’s four or five goals we’ve scored in the league and, for me, isn’t good enough.
“The last couple of games I’ve been full of praise for all the players in terms of performance and how we’ve played and maybe just didn’t get the rub of the green.
“But they’re massive chances (today) and if you don’t take them you get punished.
"But you look at the game overall and did we do enough to get back into the game? Probably not…I thought Portadown were excellent.
"We’ve been there already this season (1-0 down) and you’re looking for a response and you’ve always gotten it.
"But it wasn’t there (today), you’ve seen Portadown and how they dug in and fought and it wasn’t there in the second half (from Crusaders)
"It just wasn’t like us today.
"The hardest thing in football is creating those opportunities…the sad thing for us is we’re creating and not putting them away.
"“I’m not overly concerned with that aspect of it, I know they’ll come with the opportunities we’re creating.
“At the minute it’s that final touch, the wee bit of luck sometimes you need.
“The goals we’ve conceded the past three games aren’t good enough either.
“It will come.
"The disappointing thing is probably the manner of the performance in terms of we couldn’t get near them."