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Wanderers missed out on a new club record for consecutive clean sheets – but Ian Evatt has challenged his side to have another go.
George Thomson’s consolation goal for Harrogate interrupted a streak of nearly 12 hours without conceding, which had put the Whites level with their previous best, set in 1900.
Evatt was disappointed that his players were unable to claim the record as their own but he is backing them to put more records in their sights this season.
“It is a shame but we’ll go again,” he said. “I feel a bit for all of them, and not just Nathan (Baxter) because he’s the keeper and gets credited with the clean sheets – it has been a team effort all along.
“That is what I said at half time, we’d worked so hard to own that record and it was not just the mistake for the goal but also the two or three that happened before it. We didn’t learn our lessons.
“We want to improve and sometimes you have to learn the hard way, I suppose. But now we have to go after those clean sheets again and get the ball rolling.”
Wanderers were 5-1 up with more than half an hour left to play but failed to add any more goals to their tally in the closing stages despite bringing on first team regulars like Josh Sheehan, Dion Charles and Victor Adeboyejo.
With the result beyond doubt, the tempo of the game dropped significantly, and Evatt admitted the closing stages of the game were rather uneventful.
“It is hard because when you are 5-1 up it is hard to stay with that mentality – it is what we are trying to get to, like we saw against Exeter,” he said.
“What I am asking them to do consistently is a really challenging thing. We shouldn’t underestimate the quality in that squad and when you are winning games 5-1 and still coming out a little disappointed then it tells you a bit about where we are as a club.
“Let’s embrace that but let’s work hard to improve.”
Wanderers were able to bring on Zac Ashworth for his first appearance since October 7 as a second-half substitute.
The on-loan West Brom defender picked up a calf injury on international duty which has ruled him out of action for most of the last two months.
Evatt is happy to see Ashworth join other players on the comeback trail as the club enters into the busiest time of the footballing calendar.
“I’m happy for Zac because he has had a rough time with injuries,” he said. “He has been beating himself up a little bit because his injury record before coming here was really good.
“He has been a bit unlucky but we think he is a really good player who has a bright future.
“It was great for him to get back out there, same for Kyle Dempsey and Carlos Mendes Gomes, getting some minutes under their belt. They did well, too.
“There were positives to take but we have set sky-high standards now and we need to make sure we get back to them as many times as possible.”
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