Critchley's verdict on late drama for Liverpool U23s
Neil Critchley admitted Liverpool U23s' 1-1 draw at Swansea City felt like a defeat due to the concession of a stoppage-time equaliser.
Pedro Chirivella put the young Reds in front midway through the second half, only for Liam Cullen's volley to haul the home side level with 92 on the clock.
In a dramatic ending, Chirivella had the chance to win the game with the last kick - but saw his penalty brilliantly kept out by Steven Benda.
It meant Liverpool had to settle for a draw in their final Premier League 2 outing of 2018.
Read Critchley's thoughts on the eventful encounter below…
On his side's overall performance…
It was a crazy last few minutes of the game. I don't think we started well but we grew into the game as the half went on. We had lots of possession and then when we went 1-0 up we didn't see the game out as well as we should have done. We didn't keep the ball well enough but I thought we defended our goal up until their equaliser very well. They had some set-pieces and we limited them to very few clear-cut chances. But when they went down to 10 men I don't think we handled that very well. We had the penalty kick to win us the game but we've not done very well with penalties this season, unfortunately.
On the positive of being unbeaten in five games going into 2019…
To be honest, it feels like a loss because of being 1-0 up with a few minutes to go and you think we were going to see the game out. We then get that opportunity to win the game with the last kick but we didn't take it. It is a point, we haven't been beaten, but on reflection we are disappointed not to take three points from that game. On the balance of play and the chances we created I think 1-0 would have been about the right scoreline.
On helping the players continue their improvement in the second part of the season…
You want the team to play well but it's always about the individuals within that team. Are they progressing, are they listening and learning, what is their personality like? It's always about them learning and doing the things they should be doing, creating habits that will give them a career. If they can do that then hopefully the results can take care of themselves. We are after more consistency from all of them.