Yeovil Town manager Mark Cooper admitted he was “f*ust*ated” at his side’s inability to kill the game off before bottom club Maidstone United nicked an injury time equaliser to take a point from a 2-2 draw at Huish Park.
The boss said he had been “screaming” at his players to go for a third goal after Alex Fisher/an own goal from visiting defender Sam Bone/a goal from Matt Worthington/a goal from Chiori Johnson (delete depending on your opinion) gave the Glovers a 70th minute lead.
Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins after the match, the boss admitted he had got his team selection wrong from the start and said he did not blame the home crowd for booing his team after a “horrendous” first half display.
He said: “On the second half performance we have to win the game, we wasted 45 minutes, that was nothing like we had set up to do and there were some poor individual performances in the first half and we had to react at half-time.
“If I was a fan in the first half, I would have booed and moaned. We just have to be more on the front foot and play with pace and purpose and that is what we have worked on in these last few days.
“When you score the second, human nature is that you drop off and protect and I was screaming for them to go and get another one because that (equalising goal) can always happen, a free header from 15 yards. It’s a great header, but if you don’t go and kill the game, you leave yourself open for that.”
He admitted the absence of suspended full-back Jamie Reckord and on loan defender Owen Bevan was a major blow, saying: “We had to put people in the team who are not overly comfortable with how I want to play the game.
“I am probably asking them things to do that they can’t do, we changed to four at the back, they banked in, got everyone behind the ball and just counter-attacked and we got sucked in to it.
“We were horrendous in the first half and I will take the blame for that because I probably picked the wrong team.”
Fisher arrived as a half-time substitute in place of on loan midfielder Jack Clarke and pulled his side level with an impressive 67th minute finish before having a role in what had looked like the winning goal three minutes later.
But, Cooper said he needed more from the experienced forward, saying: “I need that from him every game, every time he goes on the pitch I need him to be a handful. It can’t be every three games and I have been his biggest advocate ever since I have been here.
“All I am asking him to do is stand down the middle and get hold of it or flick the ball on, and he has to do that every time. I have given him so much praise, but I need that for him to play, he needs to play like that.”
The result puts Yeovil four points clear of the National League relegation zone although they do not play again until the visit of leaders Notts County to Somerset on February 18th.