“I thought we were really unlucky” – Gowens

Speaking after Whitley’s 2-1 defeat at Shildon, manager Andy Gowens felt the result was not a fair reflection of the game. “I thought we were, in major parts of the game, the best side. We played some great stuff but there were two unfortunate goals I would say, one the ricochet and then the o.g. It’s tough to take, they’ve come really at crucial times of the game when we were on top and then they get a goal. We had a 20 minute spell after they scored their first goal where we actually dipped a little bit and backed off a little bit and I thought we felt a bit sorry for ourselves, but then we came back into it, really playing again.
(At half time)….the message from us was get the ball back down, start playing through the thirds and get up there, which we did and proved we’ve got the footballing skills to do it. It’s just at times that we’ve not quite got that craft and experience to be able to do what we need, but it’s coming. You cannot fault their effort – they put in great effort again.
I thought we were really unlucky and it’s a bitter pill really when it happens like it did (with their two goals) but that’s football, it’s a cruel game at times.”

He acknowledged the effort of players right across the team, saying it should give them plenty of encouragement and added, “Even the reserves who’ve come in as well have given some great performances…David Hall in midfield and those who came on, Michael Bell and Regan Paterson (pictured), so the future’s good but we need to start picking up points. So overall, yes, we held our own for major parts of the game and they (Shildon) didn’t really create many chances”