Marcus Bignot believes a lack of game management, owing to a lack of experience and match sharpness, ultimately cost Chester FC dear in their 2-0 derby defeat at bitter rivals Wrexham.
The relegation-threatened Blues went into the high-noon showdown at the Racecourse 30 points behind their high-flying neighbours.
But for two thirds of the contest there was little to separate the sides and Jordan Archer came desperately close to giving Chester the lead when he saw a shot spilled by Chris Dunn and slide inches past the post.
That let-off woke Wrexham from their slumber and two poorly conceded goals in the space of eight minutes, scored by Scott Quigley and Nicky Deverdics, ensured they recorded a win that moved them up to fourth.
The Blues, in contrast, remain six points adrift of safety with just nine matches of a turbulent season to play.
Chester manager Bignot said: "Coming up to the hour mark there was a Jordan Archer turn and swivel and a Lucas Dawson shot, and the atmosphere changed around the ground, and we were on top.
"But we then had five minutes when we should have managed the game in terms of the momentum we had. For five minutes prior to the goal, you could see it coming. We could all see it.
"It just needed that leadership out there to take the tempo out of the game, to take the sting out, and to go again and build ourselves back into it.
"Up until that point we played really well and I was really pleased with the game plan."
The average age of the Blues line-up dropped to 23 compared to the 29 of Wrexham after experienced midfielder Gary Roberts was ruled out with an injury he had sustained in the midweek loss to Dover Athletic.
And Bignot also pointed to the fact that a number of players in his inexperienced starting line-up were not fully fit.
He said: "We knew we'd probably run out of legs but going a goal down doesn't help. If you look across the backline, Myles Anderson hasn't had much football, Shaun Hobson hasn't had much football, and neither has the whole midfield apart from Lucas Dawson, who hasn't been in for a while and had to come in for Gary Roberts.
"Conceding two goals again in quick succession has drained them mentally, which then then drains them physically.
"It's frustrating. They know what they should have done but they'll be better for going through these experinces.
"We were in control. I was screaming from the sidelines and I'm sure people thought I was going to have a heart attack because we've talked about what to do when we're in situations like those. We did not manage the situation properly."
