Brackley Town manager Gavin Cowan feels side "totally dominated" Hartlepool United clash
Brackley Town manager Gavin Cowan said he was "really proud" of his side after they secured a hard-fought point at promotion-chasing Hartlepool United on Saturday.
Indeed, Cowan's one disappointment was that his side weren't able to return to Northamptonshire with all three points after they "totally dominated" Pools in the second half. With both sides struggling for goals in recent weeks, it was perhaps no great surprise that Saturday's game ended goalless, although it was the visitors who came closest to a winner when Matt Lowe struck the post from close range seven minutes into the second half. The Saints thought they'd won the game deep into added time when the influential Morgan Roberts turned the ball home, only for the linesman to flag for offside as Pools, who are now without a win in five matches, hung on to a point.
For the most part, Pools manager Simon Grayson seemed to share Cowan's view that the hosts were a bit fortunate not to have come away from the game empty handed. A frustrated Grayson blasted his side's showing as "the poorest performance we've had since I've been at the club" and said Pools were "lucky" to get anything from the game. Despite starting the game as favourites, Pools, who have failed to score in three of their last four matches, were second best all over the pitch and only mustered one shot on target all afternoon.
It's been a remarkable couple of years for Brackley since Cowan was appointed manager. The Saints knocked Pools out of the FA Cup last October in a result that spelled the end for outspoken former boss Darren Sarll and went on to win the National League North title last term, pipping a host of larger, better resourced sides to top spot. After winning promotion to the fifth tier, Brackley have adapted well to life in the National League and are 14th having won two, drawn four and lost two of their first eight matches. Of course, the Saints could well be in a stronger position had they been able to produce some cutting edge against a Pools side who offered up one of their most turgid and uninspiring performances in recent years, but Cowan nonetheless reflected on plenty of positives when he spoke to Brackley's official club website after the game.
"I'm really proud of each and every one of the lads," he said.
"We showed courage, bravery, attitude, aspiration; everything was there. We know what was missing, we know we've got to be better. We can't seem to get it in the net at the moment, even from a yard out. Even when we do get it in, the officials seem to want to take it away from us.
"I'm just really proud of the players. What speaks volumes at the end is that there's an air of disappointment that we didn't win the game; some people would have given their right arm to come here and get a point today. It was an excellent performance, I thought we totally dominated the game, certainly in the second half. In the first half, I think we were on top and the better side as well. It should have been a win, it should have been three points, but the performances will look after the results. Our big thing now is to control performances, and then the results should start coming. There's no room for complacency now, we know we're trying to transcend the group. We've spoken to the players about making sure they don't get left behind, because standards at the club right now are going through the roof. Whether it's the hierarchy at the club, the supporters or ourselves, we really want to push on and establish ourselves in this league. It's not going to be easy, but performances like today are certainly going to help."