Norwich City Under-23s coach Alan Neilson said the half time team talk encouraged an improved second half display in Friday night's 1-1 draw at home to Sunderland.
One talking point at 6pm was the inclusion of Dan Adshead in the starting line-up, who was making only his second appearance of the season for the U23s.
"Dan has been injured for four months so we only planned for him to play 45," Neilson said. "Nelson \[Khumbeni\] played last week and did well. In the second half we put two in midfield and put Liam Gibbs a little bit higher.
"In the first half, the standards weren't good enough. We were too much on the back foot. The goal summed it up. There were a few home truths at half time.
"In the second half, we created a lot of chances against a team who were sitting back and Archie \[Mair\] didn't have anything to do. We want to be on the front foot, pressing forward, moving the ball quickly, getting runners forward and keeping possession.
"We created a lot of chances but I thought it was going to be one of those nights where we weren't going to score, so I'm happy the ball went in the back of the net. It's just a shame we didn't go on and get the winner."
City conceded a sloppy goal in the first half, as passing teams always run the risk of giving the ball away in dangerous areas.
"We're a passing team who try to play out," Neilson said. "We do look for runs behind if they're up to the halfway line. We make mistakes and everybody does but it's how you react afterwards.
"After the goal went in, we didn't react well enough and weren't pressing the ball. We didn't have any intensity in or out of possession.
"In the second half, we moved the ball a bit quicker, and we got the goal we deserved."
The noise grew in the stadium as Norwich peppered the Sunderland goal in the second half, and those in yellow and green were clearly thriving on the support from the home fans.
"It's great to have the fans behind us shouting, creating a bit of an atmosphere," Neilson said. "All the players want to play in front of the fans at Carrow Road.
"We've got to keep pushing them each day, each week and each year. It's a hard, long journey where you've got to work hard every day in everything we do, whether it's with the sports science, medical, or in the SoccerBot, we've got to get the best out of them.
"We're here to produce players for the first team, not to win things. It's great if you're winning games, but Jonathan Rowe has gone up and other players from the U23s are in the squad, so it's great for us and it's their hard work that's got them there.
"We're away to West Brom on the 25th and then home to Wolves. We want the crowd to come here on the last game of the season which could be important to push for the play-offs."