Carlisle United manager Paul Simpson felt there had been problems all over the pitch which contributed to the 2-1 defeat at Doncaster.
A fine seasonal run was ended on New Year’s Day by a Doncaster side who closed to within two points of the Cumbrians with the win.
He said: “The simple fact is that we weren’t at it from the start. That’s the big worry and the disappointment for me.
“It was just all over the pitch. We couldn’t control it, we couldn’t pass it, and we lost the important duals. We didn’t win first contact enough and we were late onto second balls.
“It’s the whole host of things that combined to make it a poor day for us. You can maybe make the excuse of tiredness, but Doncaster were in the same position.
“They just had a bit more life than we did. That’s really all I can say. We’ve had a great Christmas period leading up to this with the two wins, and this was another opportunity for us. Sadly it’s one we haven’t taken.”
If there was any consolation it was that United showed some good character with the way they ended the game.
He concluded: “It was great character towards the end to keep pushing, and well done Kris Dennis for getting another good finish to his name. Maybe on another day Morgan Feeney gets up really well to get on the end of a fantastic ball from Jack Armer, but he couldn’t quite get high enough to get above the ball and head it down.
“But I think we’d be clutching at straws if we said that we deserved to get a draw out of it. On the balance of the way we played we probably didn’t.”
