Tadcaster Albion boss Mick O'Connell not totally happy after convincing victory over Bottesford Town
His side may have got their 2024/25 campaign underway with a comprehensive 3-0 victory, but Tadcaster Albion manager Mick O’Connell was not entirely thrilled by everything he witnessed at Ings Lane on Saturday afternoon.
First-half goals from James Knowles and Elliott Andrew, followed by an Alfie Dean strike after the break were sufficient to sink Bottesford Town on the opening day of the new NCEL Premier Division season.
Yet, while satisfied by the result, Brewers boss O’Connell felt that there were a number of areas in which his players could have performed better.
"The remit on Saturday was just to get three points on the board and start the season well,” the Irishman reflected.
"I think we controlled the game for probably 60-70 minutes and then I’m a little bit disappointed in terms of our mentality in the last 20 minutes. We got a little bit sloppy and we were a little bit wasteful with chances.
"We were in total control of the game, and the way I want my teams to play is just to control the game, to move teams around and dominate the ball. But, I thought that in the second half we were just wasteful and our decision-making was poor.
“We gave away probably five or six free-kicks in the last five or 10 minutes, and teams will punish you if you keep doing that so we have to get better at that – and we will.
“I think it's probably a combination of tired legs and making changes and disrupting the flow of the game a little bit. But, it’s three points and we move forward.”