Deveronvale bounce back from two goals down to draw with Rothes but manager Craig Stewart says it should have been three points for the Banff side
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“Shell shocked” by his team’s half time deficit against Rothes on Saturday, Deveronvale manager Craig Stewart praised the comeback to earn a 2-2 draw.
Stewart said despite Vale’s dominance in the first 45 minutes they trailed by two goals, both gifted by sloppy home defending.
He expected a comeback and he got one, but was left frustrated when the banff men couldn’t go on and win the match after pulling back the two goals.
“I’m really disappointed we didn’t win the game,” he said. “I was shell shocked to be 2-0 down at half time when we’ve totally dominated, not just the first half but the second as well.”
Vale played on the front foot but were caught out by a long ball releasing Kenzie Shepherd to fire the Speysiders ahead on 20 minutes.
Stewart’s men pushed hard for an equaliser but were stunned when Jaydan Bradford turned the ball into his own net to give the visitors a second just before the break.
“I counted six good chances we created, their keeper had two or three really good saves but you have to take those chances,” added the Vale boss. “You go in 2-0 down and it was really hard to believe that we found ourselves in that situation.
“The belief from myself and the players was that if we played the same as we did in the first half, we would get something out of it and could even win the game.”
That belief shone through in the Vale push for goals, with Jack Mitchell capping another good display by hitting his fifth goal of the season on 63 minutes.
Innes McKay then levelled with 15 to go, but Rothes stayed firm to repel the home surge for a winner.
“We kept going, maybe we didn’t create quite as many clear cut chances but there were quite a few. Although we took two of them there were others for us to go on and win the game.
“I can’t fault the boys, they gave their absolute all and I think it’s as well as we have played for quite a while.
“We dominated and controlled the majority of the game and ultimately it was our poor defensive mistakes and not taking chances which has been the story of our season.
“Out with the two poor goals we conceded, I thought we defended really well and dealt with everything they threw at us. The fact that we have kept possession at good times of the game and created nine or ten really good chances over the course of the game, that’s got to be a positive. There’s a lot of good stuff to take from Saturday’s game.”
Stewart will take those positives into Wednesday’s short league trip to face Turriff United.
