Crusaders boss Declan Caddell said his side “didn’t create as many chances as they needed to” in their 1-0 defeat at Seaview Stadium to Linfield.
The Crew got off to a slow start, conceding a goal to Matthew Fitzpatrick’s shot in the first 10 minutes.
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Linfield then took a comfortable lead when Alex Goering’s penalty was blocked by Moussa Dibaga, with the Crusaders unable to equalize in the second half.
“I thought we were totally not ourselves today but you can’t let Linfield get on their feet eight minutes into the game,” Caddell told BBC Sport NI.
“We scored another bad goal and, listen, it was a tough situation for both teams and the wind was strong on the pitch.
“Ultimately, we didn’t do enough. The quality wasn’t there today. I can’t blame work rate and ethics, but we didn’t take ourselves seriously and didn’t create as many chances as I would have liked.”
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It’s been a challenging week for North Belfast with club captain Jarras O’Rourke and Ross Clark signing for Glentoran.
Results elsewhere mean the Crusaders now drop to 11th in the Irish Premier League table, with Cadell adding that the season has been a “rollercoaster” so far.
“At the beginning of the year, you have six or eight senior players that you can utilize and you can try to build your starting lineup around that,” Caddell continued.
“We had a lot of injuries and only lost two people and we lacked some experience. But, with these [O’Rourke and Clarke] Going forward, it gives me the ability to bring in one or two guys that we need.
“We’re a young team and that’s probably why this season hasn’t lived up to our expectations, it’s been a rollercoaster.”
