HEREFORD manager Russell Slade said that the Bulls gave themselves too much to do after conceding two goals inside the opening 22 minutes during their 3-2 defeat at Bradford (Park Avenue).

Adam Nowakowski bundled home the opener for the struggling hosts after nine minutes before Lewis Knight fired home the second.

Peter Vincenti pulled a goal back before the break from the penalty spot to give his side hope at the break after Tom Owen-Evans was brought down.

However, Dan Sweeney restored the Avenue two-goal lead on the 51st minute and despite Tommy O’Sullivan pulling a goal back the Bulls couldn’t find a late equaliser.

“The first 20 minutes was very significant, and we didn’t get going,” said Slade.

“It was a bottomless pitch, it wasn’t an easy surface, but we gifted them two goals and a 2-0 lead. It looked quite simple for them really, we didn’t deal with the basics well enough.

“I mean getting up to the ball and stopping the cross. If you can’t stop the cross then tie up in the box, head it and defend it.

“You’ve got to do that at these places, every single time, you can’t do it on an ad-hoc basis. We have let ourselves down, fond ourselves 2-0 down and that’s not easy.

“It’s given them something to fight for and hang on.

The Bulls were forced into extra-time before losing on penalties on Tuesday night. When asked if there was a hangover from Tuesday’s match? Slade replied: “I don’t know.

“I don’t like making excuses as they’re useless, so I don’t want my players to have that excuse and I’ve told them that.

“They need to go and be accountable, they need to go home and to think about their own performance because quite frankly today it wasn’t good enough.

“It’s lacked consistency. There might have been tired limbs but we can’t go searching for excuses and reasons why we haven’t won the game.

“You saw in the second half we took the ball, it wasn’t all about physicality in the second half because we looked like the team who were fittest and strongest.

“Some of our final balls weren’t good enough and the goalkeeper took most of the balls that came in the box, but we still had chances and still worked the keeper, but we were chasing the game so it makes it so difficult.

The Bulls now have a break of 10 days before a scheduled visit to Southport on Tuesday, October 22.

When asked if that gives him time to bed some players in? Slade said: “Yes definitely.

“We just need to get that balance right. As you know Steve Dawson is joining us. We were hoping the paperwork would get through for today’s game but it hasn’t.

“He is a very experienced and very influential and very knowledgeable midfielder. I think that will give him time to get used to the lads. He will be a huge influence in the changing rooms in terms of helping the younger players around him.

“It has been Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday recently so it gives us an opportunity for things to settle down and new players that have come in to settle down. We’re going through a little period of transition so we need to endorse that and get the right side of that.”

When asked about what he makes of the National League North and how competitive it is? Slade added: “Most leagues are competitive, but it’s the consistency it lacks from week to week.

“We have shown that today we’ve had three straight wins in the league and then we come here and disappoint ourselves by giving ourselves so much to do. We had to score four goals today away from home to win a football match.

“That’s the bottom line and that’s asking a lot of any team. They had six new players in their side today who all wanted to make an impression.

“It was never going to be an easy place to come too but we still had the capability to go out there and win a football match and we’ve let ourselves down.

Slade gave a first team debut to young striker Kelsey Mooney, when asked about his views on the youngster Slade added:

“He did okay. He’s got good movement and finds that little bit of space. He has got a shot off and has been a little bit unlucky and then he has had an opportunity which it dropped to his foot and came really late to him.

“It was a little opportunity and I think if he has a few games and is a little bit sharper he might be able to poke that in.”