I am gutted as my penalty was poor
MCATEE REFLECTS ON SPOT-KICK WOE
JOHN McAtee gave an honest response when reflecting on his penalty miss, which proved crucial in Grimsby Town’s 1-1 draw with Stevenage.
The 23-year-old was back in the Mariners’ starting line-up for the first time since the opening day after recovering from shoulder surgery and had a decent game overall as part of a much-improved team performance for last week.
However, as a goal scorer, his attempt from 12 yards in the second half was saved by Stevenage’s goalkeeper Taye AshbyHammond after he had brought down Harry Clifton in his box, which will certainly stick in his mind.
McAtee did not hide his disappointment in his postmatch reflection but also praised his Town team-mates for how they fought back late on to at least come away with a point in tough circumstances.
“I definitely enjoyed being back out there from the start,” said McAtee.
“I’m obviously gutted about the penalty and will hold my hands up in saying that it was a poor one.
“It wasn’t something we’d spoken about beforehand, but when it was given I was straight in there because I wanna score as many goals as I can.
“That is just who I am as a player and I definitely back myself to score them but that one wasn’t good enough.
“Overall though, I think we more than matched them over the 90 minutes and we could’ve easily ended up with all three points. It’s challenging to come back the way we did in those circumstances because teams will sit on their lead and that usually means game over.
That start on Saturday had been a long time coming for McAtee who has had to wait patiently on the sidelines, rehabilitating with his parent club Luton Town, while his Grimsby team-mates looked for ways to adapt in his absence.
Now he is back playing and that is all he is focused on for the rest of the time he has left with the Mariners, with his time out only adding fuel to the fire.
“I really enjoy playing here [Blundell Park] as I think everyone knows and coming off the last season being on the sidelines with an injury is not where I wanted to be so it is good to be back out there.
“It’s just about getting as many games under my belt as possible, and while I am here I’ll continue to work hard and enjoy my football and that is what most of the conversations [with Luton] have been about since I came back.
“Having time out with the injury is just extra motivation to do better while I am here. I am quite critical of myself, like with the penalty, which will stay on my mind until my next goal, but I’ve got plenty of motivation to kick on and I know the team do as well.”