Grant McCann admitted feeling that Joe Ironside’s penalty miss impacted Rovers in the 3-0 defeat at Notts County.
Rovers had defended well over the opening half hour as the hosts dominated possession and were given an opportunity to take the lead on 25 minutes when Luke Molyneux was bundled over in the box.
But Ironside - who had netted four out of four from the spot previously this season - pulled his penalty narrowly off target.
Though McCann did not apportion any blame on the striker for the defeat, the Rovers boss felt the blow of the miss knocked his side off their stride.
“You’re hoping it doesn’t but I think it did,” McCann said. “The miss felt like it was a turning point in the game.
“We get the penalty and usually Joe is so reliable from the spot. He’s really disappointed that he hasn’t hit the target. It’s a different game if we go 1-0 up.
“After that we just got undone with crosses into the box. It’s been a problem for us and we need to it. The accountability lies with us as a coaching staff but ultimately when the players are in those positions, we need to defend better.
“The first goal was really disappointing. We tend to get sucked towards the ball and the ball comes to the back post and Crowley runs between us.
“The second one is really poor defensively from us. The ball was slid down the side and the distances between Tom and Joe were poor. Langstaff just taps it in.
“We gave them a bit of a team talk at half time and tried to rally the lads and I can’t fault them in the second half. I think they dealt with most things. The third goal came with a deflection off Lawsy and we just switch off at the back post.
“It was a disappointing day for us. Notts County are a good team and we’re a team in a bit of a transition. It’s poor to see that today.
“Goals are big moments in games. If we score the penalty it’s a different type of game. I could sense a bit of frustration in the stadium to that point. If we score, it doesn’t happen. But we still had other opportunities in the game. Although the stats might say they had all the ball, which is true, we still had chances that we didn’t take.
“Notts County were going to keep the ball - they’re a good footballing team and we know that. But I thought we set the traps well for them, particularly in the first 25 or 30 minutes of the game.
“We’ve been undone today. We had our chance to score the penalty but we don’t. Joe is disappointed he didn’t score but if we get another one, he’ll take it because he’s usually so reliable."
McCann confirmed Joseph Olowu and Tom Anderson were withdrawn at the break through injury and said assessment will be needed on both to determine whether they will be fit to face Mansfield Town on December 29.
