Side lacked spark - Sheridan

Athletic manager John Sheridan

JOHN Sheridan felt his side lacked spark from the off at Bramall Lane, as Athletic fell to the third loss of his spell in charge:

“We didn’t start the game well at all and looked really flat. I matched them up 3-5-2 and I thought we would deal with them. We were on a good run of form, but for some reason, they found that they had one or two spare players on the pitch. That should never happen. Every goal is a bad goal, but all of them could have been prevented.

“They moved the ball well and I just think we didn’t get going.”

At 2-0 down, Curtis main forced a good save from George Long and also hit the crossbar:

“We had a spell before the third goal when their ’keeper made a great save and then we had Curtis’s shot. We just needed to get a goal quickly and for 15 or 20 minutes, we had a go. Curtis changed the game a bit for us.

“But I don’t think we deserved anything. I have to accept it as a bad day at the office.”