The post-match thoughts of the Redcar boss from Gateway Park.
Carl Jarrett bemoaned a ‘lacklustre’ performance at Gateway Park, as Bradley Fewster struck late to salvage a point against Blyth Town.
The home side lead through a rare defensive error, Liam Wotherspoon on hand to provide the punisher.
Bradley Fewster levelled from the spot in the latter stages, perhaps a just result given the play, but far from ideal for a disappointed Carl Jarrett.
Frustrated more with the performance than the result, the boss branded the first 65 minutes as ‘lacklustre,’ pleading with his players to be at their best from the referee’s whistle.
“It was another frustrating game to watch.” Jarrett said. “Especially in the first half.”
“We were lacklustre. There just wasn’t enough effort, which I won’t have.
“Second half, we’ve picked up another injury. We changed our shape a little bit, and I thought in the 25 minutes at the end of the game, we were the better team.
“We just can’t afford to wait 65 minutes to get started, unfortunately, against teams like (Blyth Town).”
A stellar start to life in Division One, Blyth hold down third place at this stage in the season, a draw maintaining a five point gap between the two sides.
Nevertheless, Carl Jarrett believes there’s more to come from the Northumberland outfit, perhaps even a late charge for the title.
That doesn’t, however, mean the Steelmen are quite off the hook in his eyes.
“Blyth are going to be up there, challenging for the title.” He added. “They’re a good team. They’ll be really good here (at Gateway Park).”
“Unfortunately, we gifted them things today. We gifted them the goal, we gifted them shots. We just let them play around us. We couldn’t get anywhere near them.
“In fact, I’m not sure we laid a glove on them in the first half!”
Needing a response to what can only be described as a poor first half showing, the boss admitted harsh words in the dressing room made an impact at the interval.
Given the nature of the point, Jarrett conceded it was a positive, but a frustrating one at that.
He said: “We came to life in the second half, after a few things were said.”
“The positive is that we’ve come away from Blyth with a point. We’re still unbeaten.
“Overall, looking at the performance, it just wasn’t good enough. It wasn’t up to the standards and expectations that we set as a management team.
“Unfortunately, these things happen. We are frustrated, but I’ll take a point.”
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