Northampton boss Jon Brady admitted he was gutted to concede so late in Tuesday’s 2-2 draw with Leyton Orient.
The Cobblers turned the contest around after Rob Hunt’s early goal as Sam Hoskins scored twice in four second-half minutes, but Kieron Bowie then saw red for an apparent headbutt.
Orient utterly dominated the final half-hour but they were made to wait until the 96th minute to snatch a point through Shaq Forde.
“It’s hard to really comprehend,” admitted Brady. “I felt we got ourselves in a good position with 11 players out there.
“We stepped on the gas in the second half and turned it around and find ourselves 2-1 and from there I thought we would go on and win the game and maybe score more goals.
“Even in the first half, I felt we were the team having all of the entries into the final third. Yes, they had a few moments and there was a 10-minute period where they had a spell.
“It’s a disappointing goal to concede but then after that we were in the ascendancy and we pointed out a few technical things that we needed to improve at half-time and we did that.
“It made a big difference and Sam gets his goals, but the sending-off changes the dynamic of the game.
“I didn’t see the incident because I was trying to organise our back line but all I heard was the linesman say there was a coming together and they were sending Kieron off. I’ll have to watch it back.”
Orient dominated the shot count but manager Richie Wellens admitted they ultimately paid the price for a ‘wacky’ five-minute spell.
“We started really poorly and for six or seven minutes we couldn’t get out,” said Wellens. “We gave too many set-pieces away but I thought we dominated the next 25 minutes.
“We scored a great team goal and we were on top and I’d be surprised if their goalkeeper wasn’t man of the match, but we have a mad five minutes.
“Players make mistakes and you have to ride with it but Northampton’s first goal comes from our corner and then it’s a horrible deflection past our goalkeeper.
“We then give away a stupid penalty and within four minutes the game has turned around, but when they went down to 10 men, we totally dominated the game.
“Our decision-making needs to be better in terms of our final pass and our movement. I’m really disappointed because I felt we deserved to win the game but a wacky five minutes has cost us.
“We need to score more goals if we want to get to where we want to be.”
Getafe 0-3 Atletico Madrid: Griezmann treble seals Champions League qualification
Atletico Madrid's Antoine Griezmann scored a hat-trick in a 3-0 LaLiga win at Getafe on Wednesday as Diego Simeone's side sealed Champions League qualification.
The France star opened the scoring in the 27th minute from Rodrigo De Paul's throughball and had his second shortly before half-time, flicking Samuel Lino's pinpoint pass past Getafe goalkeeper David Soria.
Griezmann completed his hat-trick in the 51st minute with a fine finish under Soria's legs, with Lino claiming his second assist by playing Los Colchoneros' all-time leading scorer into the area.
It was Griezmann's second hat-trick of the season, after he also netted three times in a 3-0 win at Celta Vigo last October.
With two games remaining, Simeone's side are now on 73 points in fourth, 11 ahead of fifth-placed Athletic Bilbao, who lost 2-1 against Celta Vigo on Wednesday.
Data Debrief: Griezmann repeats the trick
Griezmann is the only player to score two hat-tricks in LaLiga this season, and the only player to net a treble with all three goals coming on his left foot.
He might need to go even further to put himself in Golden Boot contention, though, with his 16 goals for this term putting him behind Artem Dovbyk (20), Jude Bellingham, Alexander Sorloth (both 19) and Robert Lewandowski (17).
Fernandes looking for strong finish to Man Utd's season
Bruno Fernandes says Manchester United must "finish the season in the best way" following their 3-2 win over Newcastle United.
The United youngsters played starring roles, with Kobbie Mainoo, Amad Diallo and Rasmus Hojlund getting all three goals to close the gap to Newcastle in the table.
Anthony Gordon and Lewis Hall both netted for the Magpies, with the latter setting up a nervy finish with his stoppage-time effort, but their lack of clinical edge meant United earned all three points.
Erik ten Hag’s side avoided a third consecutive defeat, and what would have been a record-breaking 10th home loss of the season, and Fernandes insists they must find a way to finish positively.
Speaking to Sky Sports, the United captain said: "Obviously the job isn’t finished yet. We still have one game in the Premier League, then the biggest game of the season, the FA Cup final.
"It has been a tough season. The table shows that, and we are all aware of that. The fans have been amazing and behind us all season. We all appreciate what they have been doing for us.
"We want to do better and do differently. They [fans] have been amazing for us, and we had to do something. We have been trying, but results don’t show that. We have been working hard and everyone has been giving their best. It is not enough, and we have to do more.
"We still have two games to go, and we have to finish in the best way.
"It doesn’t exist, a captain's performance, it is a team performance. I am no different from anyone just because I have the armband. I always try my best, and we always do the best we can for the club – nobody hides that we play for a big club, and we have to lift our standards every game."
Despite returning to winning ways, United have now conceded 58 Premier League goals this season, their most across a single campaign in the competition.
Ten Hag was keen to turn the focus away from their struggling defence and onto the attacking players instead.
"Fantastic. Great goals. But it was a team effort how we made the goals. But I'm always happy at young players who are progressing very good and scored some brilliant goals," he told BBC Sport.
"Newcastle have a lot of physical power, and you have to match that, but you also have to play football. We had found the really good balance in this.
"It's always nice to win any game. It's important to win the last game at Old Trafford this season. The fans deserve this because they've had difficult times and always stayed with us.
"We are here together. We wanted to pay the fans back."
JPL finalists Mount Pleasant, Cavalier join teams from T&T, Dom Rep as early qualifiers for Concacaf Caribbean Cup
Reigning Jamaica Premier League champions Mount Pleasant FA and Cavalier FC have booked spots in this year’s Concacaf Caribbean Cup where they will again challenge for a berth in next year’s Concacaf Champions Cup.
By virtue of setting up a repeat of last year’s final, Mount Pleasant, hunting their second local top-flight title, and Cavalier, seeking redemption from last season’s defeat, joined three other clubs from Dominican Republic and Trinidad and Tobago as early confirmations.
This will be Mount Pleasant’s debut in the Caribbean Cup and first appearance in a Concacaf tournament, while Cavalier makes a return after an unbeaten run in the group stage, before finishing as runner-up to Suriname’s Robinhood FC. It also and earned them a debut appearance in the Concacaf Champions Cup.
From Dominican Republic, Cibao FC, will make its second appearance in the Caribbean Cup as the 2023 league champion from the Dominican Republic. Cibao has become a regular to Concacaf competitions, appearing in the 2018 Champions League and the 2020 and 2022 Concacaf League.
Based in Santiago de los Caballeros, Cibao became the first team in the history of the Dominican Republic to secure an official international title when they won the 2017 Concacaf Caribbean Club Championship.
Meanwhile, Moca FC, also out of Dominican Republic, returns for a second crack at the Caribbean Cup due to their standing in the 2023 season. Moca reached the semifinals in the previous edition and won the third-place match to qualify for the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup, making its debut earlier this year. Gustavo Ascona is the club’s all-time leader with four goals in the competition.
Trinidad and Tobago’s AC Port of Spain will make a second appearance in the Caribbean Cup. The club will be aiming to achieved new milestones by getting their first win in the tournament and, by extension, secure a first Concacaf Champions Cup participation.
The remaining clubs in the annual 10-team tournament –that crowns a Caribbean champion and determine participants from the region for the Concacaf Champions Cup –will be determined as their respective nations wrap up their domestic seasons.
A draw will be held on June 6 to divide the teams into two groups of five.
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