Matlock Town boss gives honest assessment after play-off disappointment

A 2-0 home win over Warrington Town last Saturday gave them a fourth-placed finish and a trip to the coast to play the third-placed Seadogs.

But Matlock lost 2-1 in their first play-off appearance in 15 years.

“We’ve come up short, that’s why we’ve not won the league or won in the play-offs. If you don’t score goals when you have the chance you’re going to invite the opposition to take the game out of your hands,” rapped a hugely disappointed Phillips.

“On Saturday we were the opposite, we kept on the front foot and took our chances scoring two really good goals. But we couldn’t do that at Scarborough.

"To be fair on Tuesday we were in the ascendancy from the off, we were getting in behind them but I must sound like a broken record, you have to take your chances.

"I’m getting blue in the face saying this. Good teams score goals when they’re playing well. Too often the onus is on us to keep a clean sheet and that’s something we or I’ve got to look at.”

Matlock appeared to run out of legs in the second-half when they were under incessant pressure.

Phillips added: “We weren’t brave enough and didn’t get started in the second half. Because lads stopped doing what they had been doing, we were having to rely on those at the back.

"The first goal was a worldy admittedly but we shouldn’t have allowed their lad to have three touches to set himself up just outside our box.

"We looked weak in the second half, we didn’t win enough first and second balls.”

Phillips reiterated his belief that not having an out and out goalscorer has been Matlock’s achilles heel after finishing in fourth place having led the table for much of the regular campaign.

“If we have a 20-goal a season man, we win the league, we haven’t got one and that’s down to me,” said Phillips.

“We’ve not achieved anything, we’ve limped into the play-offs, we should at least have been playing at home, but we’ve not done the job and we’ve been forced to go to Scarborough.”

“If we have a 20-goal a season man, we win the league, we haven’t got one and that’s down to me,” said Phillips.

“We’ve not achieved anything, we’ve limped into the play-offs, we should at least have been playing at home, but we’ve not done the job and we’ve been forced to go to Scarborough.”

Phillips added that Matlock will want to make even more progress next season.

He said: “It can go one of two ways, we can come back stronger and go again or we can go into the new season with a hangover.

"I know which way I want to go. I don’t want this season to be a flash in the pan and fall back to where we were. It’s been a long season after Covid and everyone needs to go away and ensure we keep on progressing.

"Team spirit here is second to none, when I came in there was no foundations but we’ve got lads in who throw their bodies on the line but we can’t rely on the same lads week in, week out.”