Melbourne Victory coach Kevin Muscat admitted he was content to escape with a point after his side came from two-goals down to force a 2-2 draw with win-less Newcastle Jets at Hunter Stadium on Saturday night.
Muscat conceded his troops were not at their best in the opening stanza but praised their ability to fight their way back into the contest.
“No, I’m never happy to share anything,” Muscat said.
“But we had an opportunity in the first half to make it 2-2 when Bes (Berisha) hit the post and I thought in the second half we dominated the game. But we kept pushing and created some threatening opportunities.
“The boys dug deep in circumstances tonight where they were 2-0 down away from home and came away with a point. From that perspective we’ve got to be pleased.”
The re-laid pitch at Hunter Stadium was a concern leading into the contest but Muscat refused to blame the surface for his side’s patchy performance.
“The pitch wasn’t unsafe, it’s obviously going to need some time. It’ll be fine in a few weeks’ time,” he said.
“We have to adapt to situations, it possibly took us too long to settle down and get used to the conditions.
“In the second half we adjusted a lot better and I thought we were in their half for the majority of it.”
Muscat admitted his side struggled to contain Jets striker Edson Montano with the Ecuadorian proving difficult to handle for Victory’s makeshift defensive unit.
“He held it up and he brings people into play very well. I thought we were letting him control things, getting balls up to his feet and his chest a little bit too easy,” he said.
“It could have been a lot easier for us to penetrate and get in more attacking situations if we didn’t allow him to receive the ball as we did tonight.”
