Disappointed Newcastle coach Gary van Egmond has voiced his frustration at his side’s lack of finishing prowess after losing 2-1 to the Queensland Roar in Sunday night’s Hyundai A-League clash at EnergyAustralia Stadium.
The Jets looked good early going to a deserved 1-0 lead courtesy of a brilliant strike from Joel Griffiths. But some lazy defence allowed Queensland back into the encounter with goals to Matt McKay and Charlie Miller putting the visitors ahead before half-time.
Newcastle dominated possession and territory in the second half but were unable to finish off a number of promising attacking forays as the Queensland defence absorbed the Jets’ push.
“I thought we dominated most of the game but that doesn’t turn into goals in regards to how much possession you actually have,” van Egmond said after the match.
“In terms of field position we obviously dominated and they looked dangerous on the counter now and then, but we still have to get bodies in the box.”
“It was the same situation as last week and if one of the strikers drifts out wide and they are the ones who are delivering the ball and the left side midfielder has to come into the box.”
“We have too many people who want the ball to feet and they’re not prepared to run and receive it. So it’s a little bit frustrating at this stage.”
“We didn’t have enough penetration in the middle of the park when we got the ball in the wide areas.”
Van Egmond was also disappointed with his side’s defence allowing the Roar back into the match almost immediately after the Joel Griffiths goal and then not marking up for the Miller goal.
“It is just very frustrating, you go 1-0 up and you have the home town advantage and then we switch off straight away,” he said.
“They tell me the second goal is offside but even if he is, there was no-one there with him. Someone needed to pick him (Miller) up.”
“So as I said, it is frustrating to play some really decent football but once again it is not how many passes you get but how many goals you get that wins the game.”
