After United’s 5-0 defeat away to York City, we caught up with midfielder Alex Gilliead, who offered a frank reflection on a difficult night at the LNER Community Stadium.
Speaking to CUTV, he said: “Disappointing first of all. We've got to apologise to the fans for the performance and the score. It's obviously not what we're set out for, not what we're about as a team and as a club.”
Despite the frustration, Alex was quick to stress the importance of moving on with games coming thick and fast.
“We’re going to have to put it to bed quickly because we’ve got big games coming up,” he said. “It’s three points dropped, but we know we can’t let that happen again.”
York took the lead early on, and Gilliead admitted that allowed the home side to settle into their rhythm far too comfortably.
“They were a good side and they were at it. We kind of let them get into a rhythm with that first goal, which put us on the back foot straight away,” he said. “The manner of the goals we conceded just isn’t good enough, and we know that.”
At the break, United trailed 3-0, and while there was still time on the clock, the third goal just before half-time made the task even more difficult.
“At 2-0, as senior players we needed to just get in at the break and manage the game,” he explained. “But we couldn’t do that, and the third goal — just another one we don’t want to concede — made it really tough.”
Despite the scoreline, he insisted the group didn’t throw in the towel.
“We tried to come out and play with pride. I've been in games like that before, and it's about sticking at it,” he said. “We’ve got a few young lads in there alongside the experienced ones, so it’s about showing some fight — but it wasn’t meant to be.”
The result came in stark contrast to the performance at Altrincham the previous weekend, where United battled to victory under difficult conditions.
“At Altrincham, we imposed our game. Tonight, we didn’t do that. Conceding goals early in both halves — it kills you,” he said. “We never got any momentum, and when you’re always chasing, it’s hard.”
It was a frustrating night for the team, particularly off the back of four straight wins, but Alex urged perspective.
“It’s massively frustrating,” he admitted. “But in the grand scheme of things, it’s just three points. We’ve got to dust ourselves down and go again — try and put another run together.”
Reflecting on the physical side of the game, he said United were second best in too many of the key moments.
“Maybe they were just more at it. They got the early goal, they had their tails up, and we couldn’t knock them off their rhythm,” he said. “We had a few half-chances, but it didn’t amount to anything.”
Over 1,500 United fans made the trip to York, and Gilliead was quick to recognise their commitment.
“Just thank you,” he said. “They’re a big help for us when they travel in numbers like that. We let them down tonight, but we’ll bounce back — we want to show them what we’re made of again on Saturday.”
With a quick turnaround before the next fixture, Gilliead made clear that all focus is now on putting things right.
“These games are coming quickly — and that’s a good thing,” he added. “We can put this behind us fast. We’re already looking forward to Saturday.”
