Danny Schofield felt his players responded to half time calls to show greater courage as they searched for a way back into the game at Stevenage.
The Rovers head coach admitted his side were not in the game as they fell behind to the automatic promotion-chasing outfit in the first half but was more heartened by the second half showing.
Schofield on how the game played out:
“It was a difficult test. In the first half I didn’t think we were really in the game. We played into Stevenage’s hands. We lost the physical moments which we knew Stevenage were a very physical team. The passes we played to try and get in behind the last line, we couldn’t quite do and couldn’t get out of our half.
“In the second half we gave a more spirited performance. We had more courage to play and try to build the play and nullify what their strengths are. I think we did that better in the second half but ultimately not enough to win the game.
“We had words at half time in terms of having more courage and belief and not just making the easy decisions. Showing for the ball, making movements in-behind, pressing, and really competing with them aggressively and stepping up to the physical challenge, which I think we did a lot more in the second half.”
On the performances of the inexperienced players in the team:
“There’s a lot of development in the players. They’re only young, the lads that are involved. They’ll learn lots from this experience and the performance they put in.”