Simpson upbeat despite defeat

28 December 2010 20:00
Macclesfield manager Gary Simpson was not too downhearted about the way his team played in the 2-1 defeat at Oxford. However, he felt they could have been better in both boxes after squandering a host of chances to score and making mistakes in front of their own goal. "I couldn't really say too much to the players at half-time because I thought we were terrific," said Simpson. "I was disappointed that we didn't come in at half-time three or four goals up. "Richard Butcher had about six shots and will be disappointed he didn't put at least one away. Ricky Sappleton now needs to work on his fitness but there's no doubt he's an impressive finisher. "I've been confident since day one that we've got a good group of players but no matter how good a footballing team you are between the two boxes, you've got to compete in both penalty areas. "I thought we went to sleep for Oxford's first goal and our finishing was poor. It shouldn't have been a draw, we should have won."

Source: PA