Noel Hunt ‘Bitterly Disappointed’ After Poor Stockport Loss
The Royals lost 3-1 to playoff rivals Stockport County after a very below-average performance.
At the SCL Stadium, Royals lost 3-1 against Stockport County, and manager Noel Hunt acknowledged that his team was second best.
Southam-Hales and Connolly gave the visitors a 2-0 lead at the half. Jack Diamond secured a third goal to guarantee all three points, but Sam Smith scored for the Royals.
Reading drops to seventh place as a result of the loss, and Stockport advances us to the playoffs. In an interview with the Reading Chronicle, Hunt shared his thoughts.
Hunt on the defeat
“We put ourselves through hardship. We did not acquire the right to play the game since we did not start it correctly. As a team, we are dissatisfied that we set two predetermined targets and gave ourselves a mountain to climb. For us, it was a little out of character because we’ve been doing well with set plays for the past six or seven weeks.
We entered after halftime and got off to a stronger start in the second half after that. To get back into it, we were given a goal. After that, we learnt the fundamentals of the game: have the courage to play forward. In addition to losing a tackle, we also fail to recover or respond, costing us the game.
“As a team, we are really disappointed overall.
Hunt on illness in the camp throughout the week
“You never play at full fitness, and you seldom ever play without any aches or pains. I will not make any excuses; it is a natural aspect of football. For the first half, we were second best, giving them a few goals.
“There was nothing in the game if the goals were taken away. A well-trained team like Stockport is difficult to dismantle when you do it to them. We must then have the courage to take the ball, step into gaps, and locate pockets in order to get on it.
Though not quite as many as we would have liked, we did have some moments in the second half. We must use this as a lesson and return to the struggle.
Hunt on players returning from injury
Since Chem [Campbell] hasn’t done much with his ankle in the past two weeks, we don’t want to put too much pressure on him. He did a great job to last as long as he did. I felt he was one of our better players, and it was nice to see him start and have an impact on the game.
“With Kelvin E returning and Jeriel joining the group, it’s critical that they catch up as quickly as possible. These lads are back on the pitch, but we still need to improve their levels of match fitness.
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