Sky Blues captain Michael Doyle was left feeling disappointed following City’s defeat to Portsmouth at the Ricoh Arena.
A lone goal from Ronan Curtis was enough to seal victory for the visitors as they cemented their place at the top of the table.
However, Doyle believes that the Sky Blues more than held their own against the league leaders.
He said: “I think first half we definitely looked like the better side. We had a very good chance but unfortunately, we didn’t take it.
“We were aware of what they were going to do, we’ve been working on it all week and to be fair to the lad it’s a great finish, but it’s disappointing.”
Curtis gave Pompey the lead in first half stoppage time, leaving Mark Robins’ team with work to do in the second half, but Doyle admits that the Sky blues struggled to break down a resilient Portsmouth side.
“Second half we weren’t as good as what we could have been.” He said.
“It was a disappointing second half performance. Their an experienced side, they dropped right off, and they let their defenders have the ball and they kind of stopped us from playing.
“They managed the game well, but I think it is a game that got away from us.”
Defeat leaves the Sky Blues sitting in 14th in Sky Bet League Two, but the City skipper has no doubts that City can be challenging at the top end of the table come the end of the season.
He said: “We need to get a grip quick and start winning these games because I have no doubt about it we can be up there amongst the best teams in this league if we get our act together. I think we’ve shown with the teams that we’ve played that we can.
“We’ve played all the best teams in the league now I feel; Barnsley, Sunderland, and Portsmouth.
“I think anybody that’s been here and watched the games can see we’re a match for anybody and I think tonight is one of them moments where for us as a team it’s deciding what are we going to be now? Are we going to kick on and drive ourselves on? Or are we going to be that team of nearly men?”