Nigel Pearson criticised his second-half substitutes for failing to have the desired impact as Bristol City came up short against promotion-chasing Sheffield United.
The visitors proved they were going to be no pushovers in the opening 45 minutes and dominated proceedings with Harry Cornick engineering the game's first chance when he cut inside on his left foot.
Sheffield United could, and probably should, have been reduced to 10 men when Sam Bell was tugged down on the edge of the area by a Sheffield United defender when Cornick played a dangerous cross into the area but referee Geoff Eltringham waved play to continue.
Despite their pressure, City couldn't turn their opportunities into clear-cut chances and it forced Blades boss Paul Heckingbottom into a half-time change, bringing on young Manchester City playmaker James McAtee.
United came out with more impetus in the second half but rarely tested Max O'Leary before a rare moment of quality carved City's defence open. With 13 minutes left on the clock, Iliman Ndiaye slipped in McAtee who had time to pick his spot on the angle.
While Pearson could look at the bigger picture in the 2-0 defeat at Watford on Saturday, he was critical of the lack of involvement from his substitutes when introduced. Having named an unchanged side, the first pair of changes came in the 65th minute with Mark Sykes and Tommy Conway replacing Nahki Wells and Harry Cornick.
Alex Scott came on for Sam Bell three minutes before the goal with Anis Mehmeti being introduced for George Tanner in the dying stages. "I'm a bit annoyed today," Pearson started in his post-match press conference.
"I thought there were some really good things about the performance but the subs didn't really have an impact in the way I would have wanted. I won't really include Anis in that because he didn't have too long but we didn't get an impact off the bench and it's a shame because we put a lot into the game.
"Sloppy goal that we conceded and no points out of two games that we've played in for long periods. We've got to be better than that and learn from it.
"It's a disappointment for us. I think the lesson is, whoever starts and whoever is on the pitch, they need to be ready to make the impact that we need. Simple as that for me.
"I preach about having a good group ethic but it's not enough to not have a positive impact, that's my view. Whether people think it's harsh or not, I'm not bothered.
"They've got loads of momentum and are on a good run but I thought we managed the game well in the first half. I thought our back four and goalkeeper were very good. Our senior players were excellent. Like I say, when we needed to make changes for different reasons we didn't get the impact we needed and we have a strong bench tonight.
"That's why tonight, I'm not very happy because we've put in an awful lot of effort but not really stretched ourselves enough in the second half."
The decision to wave away Bell's pull back in the first half just added to Pearson's frustration. When quizzed on the incident, he added: "I don't bother looking anymore because we don't get any of them.
"I'm wasting my time. because they'll make a story up about why it's not given. Alex Scott gets pulled down and Anis crosses late in the game but that's not why we've lost the game."
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