Alexander critical as Town throw away cup lead

But the Town manager insisted that a valuable lesson had been learned.

He said: “We started really well, we got our noses in front and then we just seemed to take our foot off the pedal.

“We’ve done that and allowed Morecambe to score two goals before half time.

“We went with the system (5-3-2) partly because of the personnel. We wanted to look at something different.

“We probably had three or four different formations last season.

“This was the first time we’ve changed it this time around.

“Were any of the goals down to the formation? I don’t think so. But if they were I’ll take responsibilty, I’ll take it on the chin.

“We just stopped doing the things that were getting us success.

“It’s a little lesson for us.

“We’ll take it on board, we’ve already spoken about it. We have to play our way and stick to it.

“We came off it for a 10 or 15 minute spell and in that time Morecambe managed to score.”

Town’s fragile back three succumbed to direct play for Morecambe’s first two, while the third came from a late free kick with Town pressing for an equaliser.

“They are poor goals to concede,” said Alexander.

At the other end Town failed to create clear-cut chances despite a bright start and ending the game with three strikers on the field.

Alexander admitted it had been difficult to break down a resolute Morecambe side, but made it clear he didn’t think there had been enough quality in his own team’s final ball.

He said: “We didn’t really test their keeper in the second half until the last 10 or 15 minutes. We just lacked a little bit of quality in the delivery.”