Simon Woolford lamented a lack of discipline and attacking execution as Huddersfield Giants crashed out of the Ladbrokes Challenge Cup.
The Giants went down 20-6 to Catalans Giants at the John Smith’s Stadium in a quarter-final tie which marked Woolford’s first match in charge.
It was a disappointing start for new head coach as the Giants’ four-match winning run came to an abrupt halt in front of a crowd of 2,151.
“I can’t fault the effort, that was there for everyone to see, but we were just not good enough,” said Woolford, who watched the Giants win at Salford last Friday night.
“I thought defensively we were pretty good.
“At the end of the day, it was two tries to one and it was probably a lack of discipline that cost us.
“We certainly need to improve some execution on attack because we didn’t give ourselves a chance.”
Meanwhile, former England boss Steve McNamara is starting to get excited about the prospect of becoming the first coach to bring silverware to Catalans Dragons.
The French club became the first team to reach the Ladbrokes Challenge Cup semi-finals thanks to their hard-fought win and are now just 80 minutes away from Wembley, where McNamara’s last visit was for England’s heart-breaking World Cup semi-final defeat in 2013.
First up for the Dragons, who were runners-up at Wembley in 2007, is a trip to Bolton’s Macron Stadium for the historic double-header on Sunday, August 5.
“Catalans are one club who have yet to win a trophy so to be part of something that could be a first is a big attraction,” McNamara said. “It’s quite clearly big for the club.
“I was going to come in here if we won and suggest taking the semi-final to Montpellier or Narbonne because we’d fill a stadium out there in the middle of summer, but I think it’s going to be a really exciting concept, two games on one day.
“We want to be part of that. But we can park it to one side now, it’s eight weeks away and we’ve got a Super League competition we can focus on.
“We definitely won’t get carried away but the players have worked hard to implement change and they’ve stuck at it.
“We’re a long way from where we want to be but we’re elated about this result, we’re starting to get some rewards.”
In a turgid, stop-start quarter-final played in front of a near-deserted John Smith’s Stadium, the Catalans were indebted to the marksmanship of Josh Drinkwater, who kicked six goals from six attempts.
“A lot of cup ties are like that,” McNamara said. “It was quite a strange atmosphere.
“You’re probably not going to enjoy that game but the important thing is to be in the next stage.
“I thought we were tough enough to get through that game. We’ve had it tough with a five-day turnaround so for me it was not so much tactically getting ready, it was all about being physically and mentally prepared.
“It was not a classic but we had enough energy to see us through.”
McNamara had special praise for centre Brayden Wiliame who flew back to Australia on Sunday for the funeral of his grandmother and only arrived back at noon on the day of the game.
“He was desperate to play so it was a tough call for me,” McNamara said. “He played the full 80 minutes, so I’ve a lot of respect for him.”
McNamara was also delighted with the debut of New Zealander Kenny Edwards, who was forced into action after only 16 minutes when Greg Bird went off to have a head wound patched up and displayed his versatility.
“I thought he did extremely well,” McNamara said, “He had to go out and play number six and then centre and he’s a back rower. He found a way, as did the rest of the team.”
