David Artell faced the media following this evening’s 2-2 draw with Walsall at Blundell Park, as the Mariners extended their unbeaten league run to ten matches.

Despite maintaining that impressive sequence, the Town boss was left frustrated, believing his side should have claimed all three points after battling back and taking the lead in the second half.

Here’s everything he had to say on the following subjects…

On his assessment of the result:

“Yes, we’ve shot ourselves in the foot, not once but twice, and we didn’t take advantage. It’s as simple as that.

“Obviously not the best first half, but after that I thought we were fine. The last 50 minutes were much better. We had a chat about what we weren’t doing well and I thought we responded.”

On the impact of Walsall’s red card and the second half turnaround:

“The sending off helps, obviously. Then we dominate the game as much as we can on that pitch, which is difficult.

“We get our nose in front, deservedly so, and then it’s unlike us – we concede the two softest goals you’ll ever see from virtually identical situations.

“We’ve limited them to 0.06 xG in open play. That’s nothing. But if you can’t defend corners, you’re going to get your comeuppance, and that’s the case tonight.”

On the difference between one point and three:

“It’s not switching off, it’s just not doing your jobs. They’re all engaged, they’re not purposefully switching off or anything – it’s just not doing your jobs.

“The first one’s a foul on Jacko and the second one’s not a corner, but we shouldn’t be relying on referees. They’re allowed to make mistakes. We’ve got to defend corners better. It’s as simple as that.”

On set pieces and learning from the goals conceded:

“All teams have got an opportunity from set-plays. Our record’s good when you add it all up, we’re in positive numbers.

“But when it comes in the box, you’ve got to defend it. You can’t be so vulnerable from just a corner. That’s a big learning thing for us.”

On starting games better:

“We’ve got to start the game better as well, without a shadow of a doubt.

“You look at teams after big cup games, it’s easy to have a dip. Taking a point off a decent team, you can look at it in that sense. But it should have been three, without a shadow of a doubt.”

On Andy Cook’s return to the scoresheet:

“Yeah, he’s in the team to score goals. He’s scored two goals – that’s him. That’s his game.

“Every time we put the ball in the box, we looked dangerous. We didn’t do it enough, but he’s there to score and he’s done that.”

On the pitch conditions and adapting:

“The ground staff deserve a huge amount of credit for getting the game on. They’re dealing with something that’s 125 years old – there’s only so much they can do.

“It’s extremely tricky for the way we want to play. The players are going to have to adapt to the conditions. Once we did and got on top of the game, I thought we were fine.

“But it’s still extremely difficult to do that continuously. That’s the game. That’s what it is.”

You can watch David’s post-match interview with the club media here:

While the unbeaten run stretches into double figures, Artell’s overriding emotion was clear.

“We’re ten unbeaten and I’m disappointed. I think everybody is.”

Attention now turns to the next challenge against Bristol Rovers on Saturday, with the Mariners determined to build on the positives, tighten up at key moments and turn strong performances into maximum points as the campaign continues.

UTM