Derby County Under-18s Head Coach Adam Robinson bemoaned his side's poor decision making after their 3-0 defeat at home to Newcastle United.
Looking to bounce back from a 6-1 defeat to Blackburn Rovers last weekend, Derby had good spells of pressure throughout the game but could not convert that into goals, and Newcastle punished them with some clinical finishing.
Robinson was frustrated with the performance and his side's inability to create clear cut chances in the game despite dictating possession of the ball.
"It was a disappointing performance overall," said Robinson. "I thought we had a lot of the ball without really showing any real quality in the final third.
"The goals were mistakes which we could have avoided, I don't think they created many chances to score, but they were clinical when they did.
"So, it was frustrating to come away from the game after conceding three at home and not scoring either."
The young Rams had just three shots on target compared to Newcastle's seven, despite having more of the ball over the 90 minutes, which was their manager's main point of contention.
Robinson said: "I think our decision-making could've been better in the final third; in the end, the best players make the right decisions at the right moments.
"Sometimes we'd get into good positions but make the wrong choices, whether that was taking too many touches of the ball, not releasing it quick enough or turning down opportunities to shoot.
"Decision making is a big part of the team's development at this level, so it's something we need to work on."
The home side had a big chance to score right after the break, which could have changed the course of the game – Bayo Fapetu met Malcolm Ebiowei's cross with a powerful header which crashed off the crossbar.
Carlos Richards followed in, but his shot flew over the bar from close range, and Robinson believed the result may have been different had that chance been converted.
"Bayo hit the bar, and we missed the rebound as well," Robinson explained. "If that opportunity had gone in, it would have changed the game in our favour.
"I think we stayed competitive all the way up to the third goal – after that, our heads went down, and we needed to show more character to get back into the game at that stage."
The final scoreline was 3-0, which would suggest a one-sided game on paper. However, Robinson believed that his side's lack of attacking prowess and defensive mistakes meant that the score was kind to the opposition, based on the overall balance of the game.
He added: "I don't think we did enough to win the game, but I think because their goals were from our mistakes, the scoreline flatters them slightly and makes it more disappointing on our end."
On a slightly more positive note, Robinson highlighted the performance of 16-year-old substitute Omari Kellyman while also suggesting that the team need to be more cohesive in the future to reward these impressive individual displays.
The Under-18s head coach declared: "I thought Omari Kellyman came on and did well in the second half and ultimately was our best player in the game.
"Unfortunately, we probably showed that we are more a group of individuals rather than a team at the moment and that lack of cohesion cost us today.
"We’ve got to make better decisions going forward and deal with the ball better in tighter areas and overall show a little bit more fight and character when we go behind to stay in the game.”