FRUSTRATED Worcester City joint boss Carl Heeley admitted his side had failed to follow the script as they were held 1-1 at Gainsborough Trinity in the National League North opener.

He also questioned the decision to book seven Worcester players with teenage defender Kieran Morris seeing red after he picked up two yellow cards.

Heeley said: “There’s an element of frustration because for 70 or 75 minutes we were better in possession, passed it very well and looked solid at the back.

"It was just a case of forcing it and getting the goal. We made the change and within a couple of minutes Ashley Vincent has created the goal for Ryan Rowe.

“We get ourselves in front but then, as so often happens with Gainsborough, big Stampy (Darryn Stamp) comes on. He’s a handful, very experienced and caused us problems. We didn’t really deal with him and that’s why we haven’t won the game.

“The big disappointment though was we stopped passing the ball and tried to go direct and that’s not our style.

"We need to make the little triangles and then move it to utilise the pace of the front two. Gainsborough wouldn’t have got anything if we had kept passing the ball.

“We got our opportunities from being patient and passing it. In the second-half, there were 10 or 15 passes then a little one-two between Sean Geddes and Ryan and he just couldn’t lift it over the goalkeeper.

“We don’t get joy from being direct, we’re not that type of side. But when we needed to be brave and keep the ball for the last 15 or 20 minutes, we stopped doing it.

“But no-one wants to lose the first game so we're happy to have got something.”

Morris’ two yellow cards mean he will be banned for just one game but it was still disappointing for Heeley.

He added: “Kieran deserved a booking in the first-half and Darren Campion deserved a booking. But then I’m struggling to think of another incident that merited one. They were being handed out a bit freely.”