Northampton Town Under 18s coach Shane Goddard was disappointed with his side’s 3-0 defeat at home to Bristol Rovers in the EFL Youth Alliance Merit League Two on Saturday.
The young Cobblers lost their opening fixture of the second stage of the season.
“It’s frustrating to say the least,” Goddard said.
“We had lots of the ball early on, but we lacked purpose.
“We were out-run and out-fought, and Bristol Rovers showed more desire in key moments.
“We took too many touches and turned down simple passes.
“We can’t benchmark that kind of performance moving forwards, because it was nowhere near the standard.”
The youth team travel to Gillingham in their second Merit League fixture on Tuesday.
The match was originally scheduled for the opening weekend of the second stage of the campaign, but it was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.
“Gillingham will be tough because they’re a good side and we’ve got the journey to contend with,” Goddard added.
“We’ll see where we’re at in terms of the squad, but there needs to be a response.
“We’re into the tail end of the season, and these next few weeks will go very quickly.
“Before you know it, we’ll be at the point of the season when there are decisions to be made and the Under 16s will be ready to move into the building full-time.
“It’s a very quick process, and the boys have to park that performance, accept that it wasn’t good enough and respond.”
