Manager left frustrated following late goal in home defeat
Neil Lennon says his side can take no consolation in pushing promotion hopefuls Norwich City all the way at Macron Stadium.
Yet another late goal, arguably against the run of play, denied Wanderers a share of the spoils.
Gary Hooper came off the bench to win it for the visitors, after Adam Le Fondre had levelled the scores following Graham Dorrans’ opener.
“We pushed Norwich very close today,” the manager said. “I thought we were the better team in the second half. Yes, we lacked a bit of quality in the final third, but in terms of possession and play we were good.
“We are disappointed with the manner of the first goal. A player in our wall turns their back and the deflection then wrong-foots our goalkeeper.
“After their opening goal we looked a little bit spooked, but we held on and then scored a wonderful equaliser. It was a great ball in from the left and a superb finish from Adam.
“We brought on a few fresh legs in the second half and to tell the truth, I didn’t think either side really looked like scoring.
“We looked pretty comfortable, but the way we are conceding goals late in games is alarming. We shouldn’t be leaving a striker of Gary Hooper’s quality in space at any time, let alone in the last few seconds of a game.
“It was not as if Norwich cut us open with a brilliant bit of football. It was a long diagonal ball forward that we failed to deal with. That isn’t good enough from our point of view.
“Overall, were we pleased with the performance? Yes, we were, but we can take absolutely no consolation for pushing Norwich close.
“We’re nearly there, which makes it all the more frustrating. We’re not far away from being a very good team at this level.
“At home we’ve done very well. We’ve lost to Watford and now Norwich, two teams going for promotion.”