Stevenage defender Scott Cuthbert said they had plenty to work on after being pegged back for a 2-2 draw by League Two new boys Tranmere on the first day of the season.
The 31-year-old central defender had mixed feelings after the match with plenty of positives but also some frustration after Boro let a 2-0 lead slip.
New signings James Ball and Joel Byrom both netted inside the opening 30 minutes, but a James Norwood brace earnt the visitors a point.
“Looking at the game as a whole I don’t think we started well, I don’t think we did the things that we were doing in pre-season,” Cuthbert said.
“We got two great goals and that’s when we’ve got to see that half out and not concede.
“We’ve let them cut us right through the middle, not got narrow enough, and they’ve got a goal and got themselves back into the game.
“That’s disappointing as when you’re not at it, you’re maybe not firing on all cylinders, but it’s the first game of the season and there are a lot of new boys.”
The former Leyton Orient man admitted it was always going to be a tough test with so many new faces in Dino Maamria’s side, including himself after his summer move from Luton Town.
“If you look at the back line we’ve never played in a competitive game together so there is going to be things we need to improve and work on,” he added.
“But when you get these leads, especially at home, I think it’s important we hang onto them.
“On the flipside we went down to 10 men, ‘Hunty’ has been sent off and we’ve done well to see out the game and keep that point, so it’s frustrating in one way and positive in the other.”
The Scottish-born defender believes the home side had plenty of chances at The Lamex but must not get caught up on it as it is early days in the season.
“‘Newts’ missed a great header right at the end, we had a few good set-pieces and a few good balls into the box that we could maybe do better with, but overall we’re going to be frustrated going two goals up and letting it slip,” he said.
“There are another 45 games to go. We haven’t been at our best, we haven’t been fluent, we haven’t kept the ball the way we know we could, but we’ve got a point, that’s a start and something to build on.”
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