Relief for ‘Cappy’ after last gasp win
Andrew McFadden was a relieved man after Shaun Johnson scored a golden-point try against the Panthers at Mt Smart Stadium last night.
After losing three of their last four games in golden-point time, to go down again in the same manner would have been catastrophic for the Warriors’ confidence.
But up stepped Johnson with a stunning try in the 89th minute to give his side two crucial points.
‘‘There’s a fair bit of relief there, I’m very happy for the players,’’ a delighted McFadden said after the game.
‘‘It’s been a challenging month, we’ve been consistent, competing hard and been in every game we’ve played in in the last two months and that’s what we want to do, that’s how we want to get respect as a footy team.
‘‘Tonight we needed that bit of luck or thing to go our way to set us off.’’
McFadden admitted feeling ‘here we go again’ when regulation time ended with the scores locked at 16-16.
‘‘That’s our fourth golden point in five matches, we’re getting use to it,’’ he said.
‘‘I thought we were really dominant, we played some really good footy. The opposition defence scrambled and just held us short four or five times.
‘‘Then we gave them some soft ones and that’s the only reason they got back into it.
‘‘I thought we deserved it and I’m very happy for the players.’’
While Johnson’s try will go down as one of the standout moments of the season, up until that point the Warriors were far from clinical in golden-point time.
‘‘[We were] probably a little scrappy,’’ McFadden conceded.
‘‘I think both teams were, we got ourselves into a position a couple of times and maybe we overplayed a bit.
‘‘We probably were a little nervous, we’ve had a few lately.’’
McFadden said Johnson chanced his arm at the right time.