Cambridge United head coach Garry Monk disappointed in side’s ‘below par’ performance during hefty League One defeat to Huddersfield Town
Garry Monk has conceded that his Cambridge United side were ‘below par’ during this evening’s 4-0 defeat at home to Huddersfield Town.
With the visiting Terriers unbeaten in their last 10 League One fixtures and looking set to challenge for an immediate return to the Championship, tonight was always set to be a tough encounter for the U’s.
But it was the manner in which his team conceded the four goals – particularly the first three, all from crosses during the first half – that left Monk disappointed.
And Monk has encouraged his players to use the loss as a ‘lesson’ with regards to performance levels going forward.
He said: “We didn’t help ourselves at all tonight. We had a good start, the first 10 or 15 minutes we were really good and it was difficult to see that coming.
“The simple fact of it is there was too many below par in terms of what we’ve been really good at and what we saw in that first 10 or 15 minutes.
“We conceded a really poor first goal and quickly compounded that – we’ve seen that a couple of times where we’ve compounded it again with some other mistakes and then obviously there’s a mountain to climb.
“We’re all hugely disappointed with the result and the performance. There was too many below par and we’re not a team that can afford to have one or two below par, let alone pretty much everyone.
“It was tough to see that coming but it’s a lesson to learn. We cannot afford, as a team, to be anything other than at least close to our best, especially in the fundamentals of the game – the defensive solidity, the competing side of it and the first and second balls.
“We’ve built this period around that first and then given ourselves an opportunity – we saw it in the first 10 or 15 minutes, but as soon as that first goal goes in we saw that level of performance drop.”
Next up for United, who are four points from safety, is a trip to Charlton Athletic on Boxing Day.
