RUFC – Moore ‘Individual errors cost us’

Rotherham United Manager, Ronnie Moore said it was individual mistakes that cost the Millers three points this afternoon at Aldershot.

Speaking to Radio Sheffield Moore said, ‘People who weren`t at the game and see the three-nil result will think we had a right good hiding but we`ve had a lot of the ball today. It was individual mistakes today that cost us the game and I could hang ’em. They are driving me crackers with that defending – how can you defend like that and try and win a game.

‘Someone has to take responsibility for the first goal and organise it. It just wants clearing. But, at one-nil anything can happen and we`ve just got to keep it tight. Then the second goal, well the decision making from individuals to let the lad get clean through well, they want locking up really. But what`s annoyed me even more is that we stood and watched and we haven`t even tried to get after him. To be fair, the third goal came because we pushed people on and we`ve gone two at the back, man for man, and they`ve hit us on the break.

‘I thought we looked bright and for the first twenty odd minutes they haven`t had a kick and yet we`re a goal down from their first attack. But we kept going and were still one-nil in the second half. The key turning point for me was the save the ‘keeper made from Alfie (Adam Le Fondre). Then we put it past the post, put some pressure on them and then we get done.

‘To be fair, I can`t fault the team for the way they played today, which might sound daft because we`ve lost three-nil, but it`s the individual errors that have cost us the game today. We got in some good areas today, we got the ball in the wide areas and some of the balls were good but we never seemed to be on the end of things and in front of goal we don`t look like we want to score at the moment.`

Moore thought Abdulai Bell-Baggie was his side`s best player today and said, ‘He was a bright spark today, especially the first half. He showed his inexperience in the second half when he`s tried one or two little things that he shouldn`t but I thought he was electric first half. I was pleased with the two young ones in the wide positions, they`ve done nothing wrong.

‘We`ve got out of jail really today, the way the results have gone for us. But, you have to be clinical at the back so there will be a lot of work this week on defending. You know, we talk about getting in the top three but if we carry on defending like that then we will be struggling to get in the top seven`