Exeter City manager Paul Tisdale was philosophical in defeat to Stevenage on Saturday, saying he hoped it was only a point they lost.
The Grecians, who had been slightly the better side in the first half of the game, were left hanging on a bit in the second half as Stevenage pushed men forward in search of a winner.
However, it looked as though City were going to do enough to grab a point – and their second clean sheet in as many games – until Danny Butterfield swung and missed when trying to clear a ball into his box and that allowed Charlie Lee to score the winner.
"It is a shame the game has ended with a mistake or two, but there is nothing I can point the finger at the players for," added Tisdale. "I'm extremely proud of the way we played and how we created three or four good chances to score. However, it was one of those games, at 0-0 with 80 minutes gone, where anything is possible. Their goal has come from a couple of half mistakes and it has squirmed into the corner.
"The players are very disappointed, but we have to move onto the next game. We have to hope it is not more than a point we lose. We need to keep our confidence and our togetherness."
City went into the match on the back of a nine-match unbeaten run, while Stevenage were looking to end a run of three games without a win.
The Grecians should have been ahead at the break, with Alex Nicholls hitting the crossbar, forcing a good save out of Stevenage keeper Chris Day, chipping another effort over the top and having a close range strike blocked by Dean Wells.
David Wheeler put Nicholls through on goal in three times before half-time and Tisdale was pleased with the work of his front two strikers linked together.
"There were three or four good bits of play between them and they looked real dynamite the pair of them," said Tisdale. "Stevenage played a high line and David and Alex have both got real good energy and good running ability and they caused them problems.
"All in all it was a good performance. There is nothing I can really point the finger at the players for. At some point you are going to lose that unbeaten run, but it wasn't through a want of trying or play or anything else."
The pitch didn't help City either, with the playing surface cutting up badly throughout the match. They also had a good penalty shout turned down at the end of the game when Nicholls was hauled down in the box, but Tisdale wasn't in the mood for moaning.
"You are going to get good decisions, you are going to get bad decisions," he said. "It was no surprise that the pitch didn't help us, it was no surprise that the game was stop start and it was no surprise that physically Stevenage got close to us. I'm not going to bleat about the circumstances, because that is just the way it is. We had our chances, but we didn't put the ball away and defensively I thought we played well. It just didn't go our way."
