On an afternoon in which so much went wrong in their 8-1 defeat by Fylde, Oxford City boss Justin Merritt admitted it was difficult to pinpoint exactly where his side’s troubles began, writes Matthew Bruce.
Merritt said the 8-1 defeat had caught him completely by surprise.
“I’m still shell-shocked, to be honest," he said.
“It was an incredible first-half display. Everything that could have gone wrong went wrong.
“It’s a new experience for me, because I’ve never had a result like that before.”
But despite the humiliation, Merritt doesn’t feel it is indicative of any intrinsic problems with his side.
He added: “I don’t believe this is a mark on anything.
“It’s a one-off.
“I’ve said to the players now that this is where well see how strong they are mentally.
“We need to learn the reasons why we didn’t get into the game, but also not dwell on it and we have to move on from it.”
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