Stephen Robinson was relatively pleased with the 1-1 draw at Oxford United. It was a winnable game but the recurring problem of putting the ball in the net surfaced yet again.
Robinson said, “It was the response that we asked for. Had we battled like that on Monday night then we would still be in the FA Cup. I’ve told the players that’s the standard in terms of desire and energy and we don’t want that to drop again, hence why my team was picked on boys I could trust. I picked boys which I knew what I could get from them, they make mistakes but they are honest mistakes. I’ve said to the boys either on the bench or in the stands that until I learn to trust them, I’m going with that team and I’ll be sticking with it. Until I get new players in that I know what they will give me then we will end up progressing up the league.”
Ousmane Fane was sent off for two yellow card offences and Robinson observed, “The first half booking sets the referee up to have to make a decision. Ousmane has got to learn to stay on his feet. People don’t get booked for diving, there are tackles going in and people don’t get booked and you can’t touch anybody now. It’s a yellow card yet he’s missed ones that are yellow cards so he’s made it difficult for himself today the referee. The fans here today saw the application and desire of the players, throwing their bodies on the line and Rippers pulling off saves. You could see there was a real passion and that’s a minimum you can ask for. Full credit to them today. I don’t think they realise enough how much they drive the players on. Greeny and Ollie were tired but they dug in and when you’ve got people singing and driving them through the game then it helps. There are consequences in everything you do in life, on and off field. The consequences for today is that a lot of people go home happy.”