Mark disappointed with lack lustre second half
Mark Robins admitted he was disappointed as Huddersfield Town’s FA Cup run ended at the hands of Charlton Athletic.
In what was the Addicks’ third visit to the John Smith’s Stadium since September, ex-Terrier Simon Church grabbed the only goal of the game to put them in the hat for the FA Cup with Budweiser Round Five, at the expense of Town.
Mark said: “We brought it on ourselves a little bit. We had enough chances to win the game and we haven’t taken them. We had 14 or 15 shots and I don’t know how many hit the target, but my guess is not many. You have to stick the ball in the net and we haven’t done it.
“They had one chance and they found the corner of the net, I don’t know if the rain slowed us down but we were really lack lustre in the second half.”
Town were forced to make an early change when a challenge from Dale Stephens forced Adam Hammill off with a leg injury in the 25th minute. From then on it was a struggle for Town, who had most of the early impetus.
“We did okay first half and we passed the ball fairly well until Adam took that knock. In all fairness the lad could have been sent off because both feet were off the ground and he’s given him a bit of an injury there. That took the momentum out of the game and affected one or two of the players’ mentalities.”
Hammill was replaced by Jordan Sinnott, who was himself replaced by Sean Scannell later in the game.
“Hindsight is brilliant, the nerves got to him” admitted Robins. “He’s been playing in a similar position for the Under 21’s and we are trying to give young people a chance and we want to win games of football, so it’s about finding that balance.
“I put him on because I thought he could create a chance for us because he’s that kind of player, but the nerves got to him.”
19 year-old Sinnott made nine appearances for Bury earlier this season, netting once against Accrington Stanley in September, but he could not manage to turn the tide in Town’s favour.
“It’s not a criticism of him; it’s more a mistake from me,” said Mark. “He’s had some football under his belt and I could have taken him off at half time but I wanted to give him that extra time to try and get himself through it.
“Sean (Scannell) came on and changed it because he got on the ball and moved it pretty well. He got down the sides of the fullback and moved the ball pretty well.
Robins saw the FA Cup as a welcome distraction from the league for a number of reasons, so was bitterly disappointed to crash out in Round Four.
“It’s a real financial help to us, the FA Cup, and we have stumbled at this hurdle. Now we are out of the cup competition until next season. It’s an absolute disappointment.
“The FA Cup is different because you don’t have the pressure of the three points. It’s a different mentality coming into cup games, we all know that.
“They (Charlton) have been three times this season and it was a challenge for everybody, but we have just fallen short of that today and fair play to them because they put pressure on us in terms of closing down. We need to get back on and try to take three points on Tuesday night.”
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