Carl Veart admits he is frustrated after Adelaide United was consigned to a dramatic 2-1 defeat against Wellington Phoenix, despite dominating the majority of the contest.
Stefan Mauk’s opener was cancelled out by Ben Waine and a last-gasp penalty from Tomer Hemed.
However, there was contention surrounding both of Wellington’s goals with the suspicion of handball in both cases as well as a potential offside in the equaliser.
Veart said the entire squad was annoyed by the result as the Reds missed the opportunity to go top of the ladder.
“We’re disappointed, the players are disappointed, I’m disappointed,” Veart told reporters in the post-match press conference.
“We let a game slip really. We’ve only got ourselves to blame. We had enough opportunities to win that game and then some poor defending and we concede some goals.”
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The boss believed his side squandered several chances and were duly punished, something they must avoid repeating moving forward.
“We started the game quite poorly,” he confessed.
“Wellington were the better side in the first-half and in the second-half I think we were the better side and we just didn’t take our opportunities.
“And then in the end we can’t afford to lose games like that, we should still come away with a point. That’s something that we need to learn.”
Five of the Reds’ eight remaining regular season matches are at Coopers Stadium and Veart said it was crucial to capitalise on that.
After two matches on the road, Adelaide have back-to-back home matches of its own, starting with Western United followed by another meeting against the Phoenix.
“I think this year at home we’ve been excellent we get great support from our fans – they get right behind us,” he said, as the Reds have won six home games from eight this campaign.
“And we’ve made it very difficult for teams to come to Hindmarsh and take anything away.
“That’s what we have to keep doing. We’re at home on Friday night against another very good side in Western United, and we just have to turn up and put in our best efforts and hopefully we can get the three points.”
Next match details:
Friday, 30 April vs Western United
A-League 2020/21 – Matchweek 19
Kick-off 7.05pm ACST
Gates open 6.05pm ACST
Venue: Coopers Stadium
Broadcast: Fox Sports
Stream: Kayo Sports, MyFootball Live App
