Matt Taylor admits Exeter still lacking in attack after draw with Tranmere
Josh Gordon forced a superb save from Harrison Male with Exeter’s best moment of the game, but chances were few and far between.
Exeter manager Matt Taylor felt it was a familiar story as his side showed plenty of effort but failed to score for the third League Two game in succession in a goalless draw with Tranmere.
Chances were few and far between for either side, with Tranmere’s Tom Ince missing three good openings in the first half, while Josh Gordon forced a superb save from Harrison Male with Exeter’s best moment of the game.
“Our best chances came from set pieces with Josh’s header in the first half and Ed (James’) header in the second half, but we didn’t quite have it in us in that final third to create attacking opportunities,” Taylor said.
“I said to the group that in the second half, that’s the first time I have seen us build pressure. I’m not saying we were totally dominant and camped out, but it was the first time we had opposition entry this season for sustained periods, but it was us trying to speed the game up and win the game.
“I think they’ll be pretty pleased and content with a point, but we also respect some big attacking players they have got in their ranks – and we saw that in the first half.
“In two or three moments, we weren’t quite where we needed to be structurally and the speed in which they attacked in those moments was impressive.
“This team has a resilience about them, which I absolutely love, and they work so hard to keep the ball out of our net, but we are well aware that we need to improve in certain areas.”
Tranmere boss Darrell Clarke admitted his side lacked quality in the final third to win the game.
“I will never be satisfied with a point in general, if I’m honest, but I don’t want to be too negative because it’s a clean sheet away from home in our second longest journey,” he said.
“But it’s disappointing we didn’t connect in moments again.
“We were driving at their backline, it was slip and slide, but a better pass, a better combination or a better end product enabled us to not have as many opportunities that we should have had – second half as well.
“There’s a bit of frustration there, but we have to find ways where, when we do break and we do counter, and we do look dangerous, we get those final moments right. That’s stuff we have to work on.
“I think we had the better chances in the game. Exeter caused us one or two problems from set plays, but not really in open play. They are unbeaten at home, so we take the point and move on from it.”