"I thought we had the clearer opportunities" - Cooper says Town deserved to win in opening National League Cup game against Newcastle
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Andrew Oluwabori put Town into a half-time lead but two second-half goals saw Newcastle's youngsters turn the match on its head.
"Yeah I do, on the balance of play," Cooper said when asked if he felt Town had done enough to deserve a win.
"It was a good experience for everyone, a good challenge.
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"They were always going to be a possession based side, who had long spells, mainly in their own third, which wasn't a concern for us, I thought we handled it really well.
"I think people understood that if we dropped too deep and we got played around then they could hurt us, so we went after them.
"There's no better example of buy-in from the lads and everyone was there to see when you go after a team and regain the ball high up we got the goal from it.
"People might see it as fortunate, I don't see it like that at all because when you see the graft and the work the lads do to try and regain the ball for us high up the pitch, it's not the first time we've had a deflection from someone deep in their own half trying to clear it.
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Hide Ad"I thought we had the clearer opportunities, the better opportunities, more opportunities to win the game, so to not win it is disappointing.
"But a worthwhile experience for the lads who desperately needed minutes for us."
Cooper was adamant The Shaymen should have been awarded a penalty late on in the game.
"Yeah, clear penalty for me clear foul, which has been the story of our week in this interim period, which is disappointing," he said.
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Hide Ad"I felt there were some really inconsistent decisions in the last few games, but this one was a really good passage of play in a moment where we were on top, looked strong, got our second wind and were creating multiple chances.
"A stonewall penalty but I thought the manner it was refereed was very much like an academy 21's game, stop-start every few minutes for every contact.
"Not every contact in football is a foul but it felt like that was how it was handled, which is incredibly frustrating because my understanding of the narrative of the competition is for academy players to experience what it's like to play senior football, and for me that wasn't refereed in a manner that was condusive to the National League.
"Way too stop-start, no momentum, so yeah, disappointed, felt it was a clear penalty.
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Hide Ad"When you create as many chances as we did, you'd expect us to be putting away more than the one we did."
The assistant manager was disappointed with the manner of both Newcastle goals.
"Yeah, really disappointing because apart from one chance in the first-half, which was well worked, we've conceded two sloppy goals from play that we pride on ourselves on not conceding from," he said.
"I know the winner hit the underside of the bar but to lose the first contact in our box from a set play is really tough to take considering the amount of corners we've had and didn't win first contacts against a youthful side that we should be physically dominating.
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Hide Ad"That's disappointing, and then the manner of the first goal, I felt it was too easy to play through us and around us and we didn't defend the box well enough.
"So it's very uncharacteristic of us. There was an element in the second-half where there was some rustiness in us that was clear to see.
"I guess that's what these games provide, is a proper test in proper conditions, proper circumstances as opposed to a bounce game."
Town defender Festus Arthur was sent-off late in the match.
"It looked like there was a coming together after a challenge by Frankie (Sinfield)," Cooper said.
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Hide Ad"I didn't see it clearly but he's travelled a distance to either diffuse the situation or try to support Frankie in what was going on.
"It was a second yellow. I haven't spoken to the referee about what it was for.
"You could see the way the game was going that small things were getting picked up on, but I didn't see the specific nature of the incident."
On left-back Ryan Galvin's half-time substitution, Cooper said: "We decided to split his and Angelo's minutes at left-back with a view to load and ensuring there was freshness there."
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Hide AdCappello then went off injured late on with a tight hamstring, Cooper confirmed.
When asked whether he felt any Town players had given themselves a chance of starting against Tamworth on Saturday, Cooper said: "That's exactly what it was there for, it was an opportunity for the lads who've been desperate for a starting shirt to grab it.
"With the gaffer in attendance, it was a great way for them to show they can be a part of what's going on.
"Ultimately, the result always has an impact but we'll look at the performances and see where players have made an impact."
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Hide AdTown manager Chris Millington attended his first match since recovering from an operation.
"He's recovering well, it was great to see him," Cooper said.
"He popped down at full-time to say hello to the lads and have a word.
"We hope he can rejoin to be part of the group towards the end of the week with a view to playing some part on Saturday, but still away from the training ground and the touchline.
"But he's instrumental in team selection, set-up, advice, guidance, but physically, I'd hope he's able to be here on Saturday."
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