Defender Jon McKain is of the opinion that Friday night’s 2-2 draw with Sydney FC was one that got away.
Defender Jon McKain is of the opinion that Friday night-s 2-2 draw with Sydney FC was one that got away.
Despite losing forwards Bruce Djite and Sergio Cirio to injury midway through the first half, McKain believes the win was there for the taking.
Indeed, when Jake Barker-Daish converted a penalty to give the home side a 2-1 advantage after Sydney FC had been reduced to ten men following Nicky Carle-s send off, the Reds were in a position to score a memorable victory with their backs against the wall. But the Sky Blues had other ideas as Corey Gameiro headed home a free kick to ensure the visitors took something home from the game.
For the Reds to put themselves in a position to win considering they were without Argentine duo Marcelo Carrusca and Jeronimo combined with Djite and Cirio-s early exits was gritty in itself.
Youth Team striker Anthony Costa was thrown into the Hyundai A-League cauldron for the first time after half an hour and young excitement machine Awer Mabil played over 70 minutes, the duo holding their own against a highly experienced Sydney FC outfit.
While McKain acknowledges the efforts of the inexperienced pair, he said it was a despondent mood in the change room after the final whistle.
“I think it was probably a fair reflection on the game but we were disappointed with the result and the way we played,” McKain said.
“You look at the whole picture of the game and two substitutions to key players after 30 minutes and quite a young bench – you look at that side of it and think it might be a fair result but we-re disappointed.
“We need to win at home, a great crowd turned up and the situation we were in, we need to finish it off.”
“We need to learn as a group. Losing some experienced personnel early in the first half didn-t help that cause.”
“That-s not an excuse, that-s probably a factor, but we need to learn and I-m sure we-ll do our homework early next week and learn our lessons.”
To watch the rest of McKain-s media conference from the Reds- recovery session, click on the video link above.
