CARL Macauley criticised his players’ performance during the first-half of a defeat against Mickleover by comparing it to a musical.

They conceded twice during the early exchanges of their Northern Premier League encounter at Wincham Park and might have fallen further behind by the break.

“It was like the Rocky Horror Show out there,” said the Witton Albion manager.

“And in slow motion too; it was unwatchable for 45 minutes.”

His side improved on their return to the stage for the second-half, and set up a rousing finale when Rob Hopley halved their arrears.

Referee Jonathan Maskrey even granted them an encore when he added six minutes to the end, but the tale did not twist and they suffered a first home loss of the campaign.

Conversely, their opponents hadn’t previously won on their travels.

Macauley added: “We gave ourselves a mountain to climb.

“We were up against a side with the know-how of the likes of Burgin and Mills in defence and it’s a big ask to score three goals past them in 45 minutes.

“We kept going, and kept on believing, and it was good to see a bit of pride – that gives us something positive to take away.

“But we have to be honest; to reach half-time only 2-0 down was good for us because it could have been four or five.”

Asked by the Guardian why there had been such a contrast between Albion’s performance during a 2-1 win at FC United of Manchester in the FA Cup on Saturday, Macauley was clear.

“Fatigue has crept in,” he replied.

“We put so much into that game, and perhaps it’s caught up with us.

“It’s a small squad, and we ask them to play with energy because that’s when we’re at our most dangerous.

“There is plenty to think about and perhaps we need to consider rotating more than we have done.”