Grimsby Town manager Michael Jolley says he was disappointed with his side’s second-half performance as they lost 2-0 to Stevenage in Sky Bet League Two at Blundell Park.
The Mariners’ winless run extended to eight games as Stevenage striker Kurtis Guthrie struck either side of the break to secure all three points for Dino Maamria’s side.
And Town boss Jolley said he hoped his side would kick on from their first-half display in the second period.
Speaking on iFollow Mariners, he said: “I don’t think we did enough in the second half today to warrant a result from the game.
“I thought the first half we were the better team, and had we got the energy from getting the first goal I think that would’ve provided the impetus to take us forward in the match.
“But certainly in the second half I think we came up short.
“It’s a frustrating time because clearly we’re in the business where goals and results give you energy, and take you forward through difficult games.
“So when you go through a period when you don’t have that release of a win, or of scoring a sufficient number of goals, it can affect your confidence.
“And I think today when they scored that goal, we came in at half time reflecting on the fact that we’d performed reasonably well, but again we were behind.
“So we spoke at half time about trying to play with energy, and being more offensive in the second half.
“And then within five minutes of the second half we were two behind, so that knocked the stuffing out the team once again.”
And Jolley praised youth team striker Rumarn Burrell, who made his league debut for the club as an 84th-minute substitute in the game.
He said: “We’ve spoken many times about trying to bring more academy players through into the first-team.
“And congratulations to those three – Brandon Buckley, Mattie Pollock, and Rumarn Burrell – it was obviously great to have them all on the bench.
“And I’m really pleased for Rumarn to get on and make his league debut as well.
“Rumarn’s had a good season with the under-18s, and he’s a willing worker so we were pleased to put him on in the last part of the match.”
Watch Michael Jolley’s full post-Stevenage press conference for free on iFollow Mariners
