McIntosh keen for positive reaction after Frickley loss

Martin McIntosh is hoping for a good response from his players against Grantham.

The 5-1 loss saw the Bucks fall behind inside the first minute, have defender Greg Young sent off six minutes later and then miss a penalty late on.

And McIntosh says it was a night he wants his side to put behind them quickly.

He said: “We had a horrendous start. The goal we conceded inside the first minute was poor from our point of view and gave them a massive lift early on.

“Then Greg Young was sent off for what was a bad decision on his part and that gave the other ten players a massive mountain to climb.

“It also meant we had to take a striker off and change our formation which is something you never want to have to do, let alone so early on.

“I was slightly worried at that point that it would damage us badly and although that proved the case in the end, we got level thanks to a good goal from Brad Barraclough and in fairness we worked hard throughout.

“We just gave away some poor goals and it killed us off.

“I can’t fault the players for their effort but once Frickley’s second goal went in it became too difficult and that was reflected in the final result.

“I think that’s the first time for about three years that one of my teams has conceded five but these things can happen in football sometimes.

“We contributed to our own downfall but we’ve talked about it, shared our feelings and now have to move on.”

Next up for Buxton is the home clash with Grantham Town on Saturday.

The Bucks won 3-1 in Lincolnshire earlier in the season and McIntosh hopes his players will be keen to respond well to Tuesday’s loss.

He said: “We’ve endured a tough run in that we’ve had five of the last six games away from home against sides above us in the table, as well as having lost some key players along the way like Warren Burrell, Tom Buckley and Phil Barnes.

“These are key players that helped us get into the good position we were in so losing them is bound to have a negative effect.

“All teams have rough patches and I hope our fans will acknowledge that and keep backing us.

“It’s been a difficult period but it’s something we have to stick together through and get our confidence back with some victories.

“I still have the belief that we can challenge for the play-off places if we can rediscover some of our form.”