Simon disappointed with Blackpool showing
Simon Grayson told htafc.com that he was grateful for the point earned against Blackpool after a disappointing showing.
Despite going ahead in the game and conceding a very late equaliser, Simon felt that his side didn’t deserve anything from their Boxing Day clash.
“We can’t be disappointed with a draw after that display,” he said. “We should have been dead and buried within the first 25 minutes; the players can’t play any worse than they did in the first half. We looked disorganised and we didn’t have a run or a pass in us. Blackpool made us look very ordinary and the only saving grace at half time was that we weren’t behind.
“We tried to match them up in the second half and by doing that we gained a little bit of momentum and managed to get a goal. You hope that you can see the game out from that position, but they managed to get a goal which was no less than what they deserved. It is difficult to work out why we were so bad.
“They players didn’t get tight enough to the Blackpool players; they were two or three yards off every one of them. We didn’t get anywhere near them and that led to us looking out of position.”
Town looked to have secured all three points after taking the lead courtesy of Anthony Gerrard, but were dealt a cruel blow when Nathan Delfouneso flicked home at the near post with seconds remaining.
“I am grateful for the point in the end, we should have been dead and buried,” commented Simon. “If we had won the game or even with the draw it is papering over the cracks of our performance. I am not worried because I have got belief in the players. We need to work harder than the opposition and stop them from playing and we will eventually get our rewards.”
Gerrard’s header was his first for the Terriers and came on the back of a good defensive display.
“He made a couple of decent clearances, but we shouldn’t have been at full stretch in the first place to keep them out. We were on home soil, in front of a decent crowd and we failed to be the dominant team. I am hugely disappointed that we haven’t carried forward the Crystal Palace performance, if anything we have taken a backwards step.”
In another first, Murray Wallace made his debut for the Terriers coming on as a second half substitute for Calum Woods.
“He has played there a couple of times and I thought he did well. He may look on the goal and think he could have closed Tom Ince down quicker, but I thought on the whole he contained him well.”
Woods was an enforced change upon Simon as was Danny Ward who hurt himself before kick-off.
“Calum hurt his groin at the end of the first half and Danny Ward felt his knee during the warm-up; both players were taking off as a precaution ahead of Sheffield Wednesday.”
