Perth Glory coach Dave Mitchell was left to lament one that got away after his side dominated its 0-0 draw with Sydney FC on Sunday afternoon without finishing off any of the chances created.
Fresh from a 4-0 Boxing Day win over Newcastle, the Glory were looking to build on the momentum gained from that result and put some distance between themselves and the teams outside the top six.
But despite producing some fantastic passing football to set up numerous chances, particularly in the first half, the final finish let Perth down, Mitchell looking on as Mile Sterjovski hit the post in the seventh minute, before having a second-half header cleared off the line.
They were just two of a number of chances missed, with midfielder Jamie Coyne sending a couple of chances narrowly wide before half-time while also seeing a bobbling effort tipped over the bar by Clint Bolton.
“I think with the way we played, we dominated a lot of the game,” Mitchell said.
“Created some chances and just couldn’t put them away.”
“Goals change games and in the first five minutes we’ve hit the post and a couple of corners have come in and we just couldn’t put them away and as the game goes on, you know they’re a dangerous side so they can come back into it.”
“They had a couple of chances towards the end, but apart from that we dominated most of the game.”
Although his side appeared to lose some of its attacking fluency in the second half, Mitchell felt it was solid defensively, the coach saying he was concerned any drastic changes could have played into Sydney’s hands.
“Towards the last 20 minutes of the game, you think ‘right okay, you’re going to and try and win this’, but when you try and do that, you can try and lose it.”
“The games are very important and obviously we want to pick points up, so we were a bit worried about making changes and changing the structure because we were solid and creating chances, so we didn’t really want to change it,” he said.
With the sixth-placed Glory just one point ahead of Brisbane in seventh position, captain Jacob Burns felt his side had missed a good chance to consolidate its position in the top six ahead of a tough road trip, where Perth plays Melbourne and Adelaide within four days.
“I think we’ve dominated a lot of sides but the proofs in the goals that go in, and that’s where you know, you move up the ladder.”
“But I think you’ve got to remain positive and take that kind of play. Sydney are a great side, they’re up the top, so to dominate a side like that, I think you’ve got to take that confidence into the games against Melbourne and Adelaide.”
“They’ll be two tough games, but I think the two results are there to be taken.”
