Boss Kieran McKenna admitted it was hard to verbalise his feelings after the Blues’ 4-4 draw at Charlton having twice been two goals in front.

Town looked on their way to the three points at 2-0 and again at 4-2 in injury time but let their advantage slip on both occasions.

“It’s hard to verbalise the feelings at the moment,” McKenna said. “It was such a roller-coaster of a game and of emotions.

“There’s obviously a lot of frustration and disappointment and anger in the dressing room at the manner of the goals we conceded, and that’s how it should be.

“Of course, we also have to, in the right time, take time to reflect on the good things in the game - coming again to another big stadium against a good team and, in my opinion, dominating and controlling the game, putting ourselves in a great position at 2-0, had great chances to go 3-0 and they scored off their first moment in the second half.

“From there, it was one of those days. We showed great character to go again after 2-2 when really the second goal comes from nothing again, it’s just a mistake.

“Showed great character, I always believed that we were going to score, I didn’t think we were going to score two and we’ve put ourselves on 96 minutes in a position that we have to go and win the game from.

“My feelings at the moment are that it wasn’t a lack of concentration, certainly not sloppiness, just a bit of a lack of control of our emotions, it was such an emotional game.

“Fantastic scenes and joy on 96 minutes when we got the goal and amongst other things my main feeling is we didn’t just manage to manage our emotions to handle those last couple of minutes, keep our details well, not give away free-kicks, defend our set plays properly, hold our high line in free play, keep the ball out of our box.

“We didn’t manage to get our details right and it’s frustrating. It’s also a human game and I understand there was big emotion there and if we could do the last three minutes again, I’m sure we’d see it out without too many problems but in the heat of the moment there are mistakes and it’s hard to find that clarity of thought, and that’s what we need to keep working on as a team.

“Look, lots to reflect on. Of course, it’s a very disappointing end result and I think on the whole we went into a really tough week where if you’d have offered us seven points at the start, I’m sure most of the people around the club would have taken it.

“It’s another tough game after a tough away game midweek and a tough game against Derby and we’ve come out of it with seven points and lots of positives and also some clear areas to work on.”

Clean sheets had been a regular feature of Town games until recently, however, in the last month the Blues have conceded twice agains Portsmouth, Plymouth and Port Vale and now four against the Addicks.

“It’s something that we need to do better on, for sure,” the Blues boss admitted. “There are different goals in there but if there’s a common theme it’s dealing with high balls into our box. There’s no point in shying away from it, that’s something we need to do better.

“Teams are going to target us on that from here on in, as they have done really all the way along because of how we play.

“We’ve got the winter coming up, we’ve got to stand up to that, we need to improve and we’ll be looking to do the work at the training ground to help us do that.”

Regardless of the disappointment of having drawn from a winning position, a draw away at Charlton isn’t on the face of it a bad result.

“Football sometimes is hard to explain,” McKenna reflected. “There are things that we need to do better, details to improve, but I think sometimes crazy matches happen and I think if we played the last three minutes over it wouldn’t happen again, there’s an element of randomness, an element of luck.

“Of course, when it’s not the first time we’ve given up a lead and when you’ve had goals this week where teams have put it in your box and you haven’t defended it well enough, you look at the pattern that’s emerging and think that you need to improve on that, and we don’t hide away from that.

“But also, sometimes there are things that you can’t control in football. There’s a randomness to it and also an emotional element to it that is easy to talk about now, what we should have done and what we should have done, but it’s not so easy in the heat of the moment.

“That’s what we need to keep working on with the players to find that right level of concentration but also control in those big, big moments in big emotional games.”

Quizzed on whether skipper Sam Morsy was picked on by referee Josh Smith in the first half, McKenna said: “No, big complaints. I thought it was a good game for the referee. Reffed it well in general by [my reckoning]. It wasn’t easy with a crowd who were looking for all the decisions for the home team. I thought the officials did a good job.”

Conversely, Charlton boss Ben Garner spent much of his press conference bemoaning the referee’s performance having been red-carded by the official for his complaints regarding Town’s second goal having felt the free-kick from which it was eventually scored shouldn’t have been awarded and that scorer Tyreece John-Jules was offside.

Garner said he felt referees and their performances are too regular a feature of the post-match discussion, including those between him and fellow managers."
“I think we’ve had plenty of our share of incidents this year that we feel aggrieved by and I could sit here and list them as every team could do,” McKenna said.

“I can only speak for myself. My approach is to, within reason, try and focus on ourselves and control what we can control and referees are there in general doing their best and as long as there’s an honest performance, and I thought today the referee was and tried to make the right decisions, then they can make mistakes as well as both sets of players and staff can do.

“I’d rather focus on the game and the good things we did and the things to improve.”

However, McKenna agreed with Garner that there needs to be more investment in refereeing at League One level.

“I think that’s a given,” he said. “I think with the money that’s in the game, there needs to be a percentage of that that goes to the referees.

“The investment and the interest and the scale of League One now is really big league and games are getting huge following home and away.

“Of course, the investment to give them as much help and training as possible should be there.

“But, I repeat, I thought the referee, in my opinion, reffed the game well and to the best of his ability and I think it’s more important to look at what happened between the sets of players on the pitch.”

Asked to reflect on four goals having been scored in injury time, he added: “It was a crazy game. From 2-2, I thought we did so well to respond and push for that goal and we were the only team that was going to get the third goal. And to get it in front of our away end in front our away supporters was fantastic.

“To get another goal was fantastic and emotions were running high. Ninety times out of 100 you go on and win the game from there.

“There are things that we can do better and we’ll look at but football is a crazy game, random things happen. You kick the ball into the box and sometimes it goes one way and sometimes it goes another and amongst the things that we need to do better, it’s also a one out of 100 finish to a game.

“I don’t think us getting the winning goal was one out of 100, I thought we were pushing and building towards it and we’ve done it time and again to show that we can push and go for late goals.

“Of course, the late comeback was extremely disappointing and we need to better but it was also something that I don’t think would happen again and there’s a part of me that wants to focus on the things that are repeatable and I think our performance in general and the goals that we scored are repeatable and things that we need to keep doing.”

Regarding the whistles from the crowd when Town were in good positions on a couple of occasions in the first half, leading to a warning over the PA that the players would be taken off they continued, he said: “No one wants to see it, I’m sure Charlton weren’t happy with it as a football club either.

“I thought Tyreece was running straight through on goal, that was the key one. He was running straight through one-v-one with the goalkeeper and the whistle blows and he hesitates and stops because he thinks it’s a free-kick. Nobody wants to see that. I’m sure they will look at it.

“I thought we had a clear penalty, not to talk about the referee because I promised I wouldn’t! I thought there was a clear handball at the end of the first half [when Terell Thomas stopped a John-Jules shot], which is a clear red card, if we want to talk about decisions because he stuck his hand out to handle the ball.

“But I spoke to the referee at half-time and he said he didn’t have a good view of it, so that is what it is.

“It was just before we scored but by the laws of the game, I would have thought it would have been a penalty and a red card.

“No one wants to see whistles in the crowd, that was disappointing. Thankfully there weren’t any instances in the second half.”

Garner sought to whip the crowd up as he walked to the tunnel having been sent off. Did McKenna feel that changed the dynamic of the match? “Possibly. I think it probably changed the atmosphere where I think there was every chance the home crowd were turning against the home team and it probably gave them a common enemy and that shifted the focus towards the referee and not towards the performance of the home team.

“Did it change it? I don’t know. Of course, it added more emotion to the game, but having said that, we rode that out and we went and got ourselves to 4-2 in the 96th minute, so we can’t look at that as any excuse for why we didn’t win the game.”

Meanwhile, McKenna was asked about his former Manchester United colleague and friend Michael Carrick taking over as boss at Middlesbrough, who lost 2-1 in his first game at Preston today, the Lilywhites winner having come in injury time.

“Really happy for him, really good person, very knowledgable and I think has a chance to be a really good manager,” he said.

“Happy for him to find an opportunity that he was interested in and, of course, wish him all the best and I’m sure we’ll be on the end of the phone at different times. Can only wish him good luck.”

Addicks boss Garner was delighted with his team's comeback but was scathing regarding referee Smith's performance, particularly with regard to Town's second goal, and also that of the fourth official.

“It shows how good we can be,” he said. “The atmosphere second half was unbelievable, it really was.

“Everyone in the stadium can see Dobbo [George Dobson] has got the ball for the free-kick. To cap it off, [John-Jules is] offside from the cross. We get two players booked from it and I got sent off — from the referee getting a decision completely wrong.

“They need to look at themselves. It was like being back at school with the fourth official, every time I tried to speak to him it was like a kid saying he’s going to tell his mum about you. Just stand up and have a conversation — be a man.

“It’s probably a ban and a fine, I don’t know, I’ve never been sent off before. I don’t want that to overshadow what was such an incredible team effort and incredible atmosphere here this afternoon.

“I don’t need a replay. He gets all of the ball — a perfectly-timed tackle. And for the cross he is a yard offside. You can’t get those decisions wrong. There are livelihoods on the line. How much effort we’re giving and the standard of refereeing is nowhere near good enough.

“The referee today spent most of the time before the game telling my staff that he’s a Championship referee. The EFL need to look at that, if that’s the case. He’s not good enough for League One.”

Garner felt the home fans played their part following his entreaties to them to ramp up the atmosphere after his dismissal.

“I was frustrated and there was some energy and noise from the crowd — I just went with them,” he explained.

“It rose and rose. I wanted to show how much I value them and my passion, how much it means to me.

“They responded. We don’t get that result without the crowd, we don’t. Not a chance. That emotional energy was so, so important in the game. It shows what a special atmosphere we can create here. To do what we did was special.”

Regarding the errant first-half whistler, he added: “The first one went in their favour because we stopped — they got a cross and got a corner.

“But the second one probably went in our favour because he was through on goal. I’ve never known that before.

“On both occasions I thought it was the referee. We all stopped for the first one.

“It was John-Jules who went through and it probably affected him, in all honesty. I don’t know where it was coming from and I’m glad it got sorted. Hopefully we never get that again.”

Photo: TWTD

CookAshtonJohnson added 19:08 - Oct 29 This man speaks nothing but the truth at the end of every game. Much like every other supporter, I was down at full-time. But as McKenna says, these things happen and League One is one of the craziest leagues in the world. Another thing to mention is yes, we keep bottling these leads, however, we are still believe it or not in October. The team and Kieran will get rid of these errors and come April, we'll either be singing “Que sera sera” or “We are going up”. Have faith, and I'm sure I won't be the only one keeping one eye on Exeter on Monday.

21

martin587 added 19:11 - Oct 29 Honest as usual.Now plenty of time to reflect on the errors.
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jas0999 added 19:15 - Oct 29 Great interview from KM. that said this isn't the first time we have thrown away a two goal lead. 4-2 up in the 96th minute and only managing a draw is unfortunately not good enough at any level of football, least of all at professional level. This can't be dressed up any other way. Dreadful.
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Carberry added 19:19 - Oct 29 It was just one of those days was it? That's OK then.
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Texastom added 19:23 - Oct 29 Similar comments at the end of the Lincoln game. One off? Not so sure. Pattern emerging that we can't keep leads too.
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chopra777 added 19:24 - Oct 29 Surely part of the game plan must be to batten down the hatches. That's two games on the trot we have struggled with an onslaught. I believe we have a huge battle to the end of season to win games. The honeymoon period is over. There will be shock results because the lessor teams are fighting for points. Therefore only a three goal lead can be defended. Town we have to up our game.

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ringwoodblue added 19:28 - Oct 29 Agree with most of what Kieran says except “My feelings at the moment are that it wasn't a lack of concentration, certainly not sloppiness, just a bit of a lack of control of our emotions, it was such an emotional game. I think it was a lack of concentration and poor game management- other teams are masters of time wasting so why couldn't we waste 6 mins when we were 4-2 up? As they say, it's fine to make mistakes as long as you learn from them and don't make them again. I guess we'll see if the players do learn from this experience.

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Texastom added 19:30 - Oct 29 No control over our emotions? That's mental fragility. Teams will target us when we go in front from now on. Can't score from set pieces especially corners and concede from them and long ball attacks. One good thing is we score a lot now.
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Suffolkboy added 19:34 - Oct 29 Do not often feel even tempted to disagree with KM ; BUT he knows full well that as a team you can be at your mis vulnerable immediately after scoring ! SO it can be no excuse ,especially at Professional level , to allow emotion to destroy focus / concentration : this is exactly the time for resolute leadership to remind each of their responsibilities . Never mind , exciting times and frustrations are part and parcel and the longer term view is looking good ! COYB

6

Stato added 19:40 - Oct 29 Please start Ladapo, Chaplin and Harness more regularly. They don't seem to be thriving under this rotation system if 60 mins one week then bench the next.
4

WhoisJimmyJuan added 19:44 - Oct 29 Yes I'm calming down too now. Still gutted. Definitely not good enough from the defence. But on reflection I wonder in fact if there's an extent to which we are paying the price for our attack-attack-attack mentality and can't switch in these situations? What worries me is how Plymouth for example have no chink in their armour seemingly. Meanwhile Posh and Wednesday are closing in. This is just starting to feel like the Burley days. Fab performances but soft underbelly and that we will finish 3rd before getting turned over in the play offs. But too early to say of course.

2

MickMillsTash added 19:48 - Oct 29 Why wasn't he asked why Ladapo didn't start after scoring 2 at Port Vale ? Jackson is the luckiest man in football to get a shirt- game changer!
7

SickParrot added 19:52 - Oct 29 KM's ability to deliver an unemotional and honest appraisal after such a crazy end to the game is very impressive. I am relieved that he has conceded that we must improve our defending of the high ball into the box and that we need to manage the emotion of the game better. However, I hope that behind the scenes he will also be much more critical of our game management when we have a 2 goal lead than he could be in public.

14

ArnieM added 19:57 - Oct 29 Our Defence/ defenders are NOT good enough .
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d77sgw added 19:58 - Oct 29 Not buying it. Wednesday, Port Vale, Charlton x 2 - all in the last few weeks. This is a problem - and I suspect (hope) that McKenna knows that. We're now in a situation where whenever we're 2-0 up we'll all be thinking “we could c*ck this up” when we should be thinking “now we see this out”. Gotta sort it.
9

herfie added 20:04 - Oct 29 Word no doubt going around the league that we have this soft underbelly. By getting crosses into our box and overloading the back post area, there's always a good chance awaiting. We're seldom first to the ball in those situations, or even at attacking the second ball, and our defensive headers are milky. Of course rival managers will set up accordingly. Together with eliminating individual errors, and getting on field decision making much sharper, are among those lessons to be learnt that KMcK talks about. Two week break provides time for reflection and rectification.

8

Bert added 20:54 - Oct 29 Too right. High balls and corners are our constant downfall. Haven't a clue what Garner is on about. It was a clear foul and as for their support Ithought it was quite timid apart from the last few minutes which of course they enjoyed. For me it reminded me of the play off semi against Bolton but this time it was ecstasy to agony. Should it feel like like when our country and the world is in a troubled place ? Well, yes because supporting a team is a way of life and part of our wellbeing.

2

TimmyH added 21:09 - Oct 29 What's our psychologist doing whom we employed at PR this summer? (The fella in the yellow jumper) - KM talks about emotions, shouldn't this be right up this chaps street? I cannot remember what his name is, but he wants to start earning his money when it comes to us taking 2-0 leads away from home.
7

62WasBest added 21:29 - Oct 29 Lack of control of emotions is a lack of concentration.
2

ArnieM added 22:07 - Oct 29 For those that didn't arrowed my views on our defenders . Fine , that's your prerogative, but wake up to his fragile our defenders really are when they are asked to do some basic DEFENDING. Playing the ball out of defence in a nice steady tippy tappy side ways , back and forth pattern is NOT a defending attribute, it's an attacking attribute. Dealing with high balls / crosses into our box , marking opponents in and around our box IS a defending attribute. Neither of our CB's do any of it very well. It may be the difference between automatic promotion or play offs. So have a think about that!

9

renoble added 22:36 - Oct 29 Get angry. Bottle it. Don't lose any more games.
4

gosblue added 23:11 - Oct 29 It'll be interesting to watch the game back. I think defensive errors came from midfield and GK rather than the back three plus credit to Charlton for causing us problems. Sessegnon was immense and their two subs on the hour had an immediate impact. We used to be great at defending as an eleven but we seem to have lost our way a little bit in that regard. I trust KMcK will sort it. We've got a month to tweak it and be ready for the business end of the season COYB

1

churchmans added 23:30 - Oct 29 Absolute bollo*s I was therevthe defending in this game was utter 2bob! Seriously it was unbelievably krap! And has been for a while! It is a case of hope we score more than them!!! We are like jelly at the back when opposition teams suss that out!(decent managers will) they will end up going for it!!! Truss me people we need burgess back and the transfer window quick! We don't want no playoffs! As teams will go for it and do us!! FACT

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blueboy1981 added 00:37 - Oct 30 Out Achilles Heal is massively NOT being able to Defend high balls into the box - it will become much harder now because it is so obvious and opposing Teams will capitalise on this even more, if not sorted. Have we a Defender who can head a ball, and clear their lines ? - the last two Charlton Goals today, prove the point that we have not. A Mega current weakness that will increasingly be punished now, and set pieces we seem to have no idea how to defend these !! Far too many Goals conceded, and most of us can see why !!

3

hyperbrit added 03:24 - Oct 30 any chance of McK borrowing Sir Alex's hairdrier.Pyschology my kazoo.These guys are over paid school children,but more disturbing is that opposition mgr's have spotted it but McK is still making excuses.
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