Wright admits to error on Garcia's goal

Wright admits to error on Garcia's goal

Mar 27 2006

By Ian Doyle Daily Post Staff

RICHARD WRIGHT has accepted some of the blame for Everton's derby defeat at Anfield on Saturday.

The goalkeeper had no chance for either Phil Neville's opening own goal and Harry Kewell's stunning third as Liverpool claimed a 3-1 success.

But Wright admitted he could have done better in preventing Liverpool's second goal two minutes after the restart, the keeper rushing from his line to prompt Luis Garcia to lob the ball over him.

"I perhaps made Garcia's mind up by rushing out and he just lifted it over me," said Wright. "I was disappointed to have conceded that goal. Had I stayed on my line he might have had a shot that I may have saved."

Wright admitted he felt sympathy for Neville after his own goal on the stroke of half-time gave Liverpool the lead.

"To concede a goal just before half-time was very unfortu-nate, especially for Phil," he added.

"It just whipped off the top of his head and flew past me. It was just one of things and when things like that happen you wonder if it's not going to be your day."

David Weir conceded Everton had not reacted well to Liverpool being reduced to 10 men following the 18th-minute dismissal of Steven Gerrard.

And the skipper echoed manager David Moyes's comments by admitting it had been a missed opportunity for Everton to record a first win at Anfield in almost seven years.

"We've got to expect to win games like that and we were the favourites after the sending-off but we didn't respond to it and we didn't do well enough," he said. "We were in the game right up until half-time but even though we were a man up, we weren't playing well. Had we got to half-time at 0-0 then it would have been game on.

"The first goal made a difference but even before that we weren't doing enough as a team.

"Maybe we needed half-time to come so we could get ourselves organised and get going again but we never made it. We lost two goals at bad times and it was difficult from there."

Of Gerrard's red card, Weir added: "I thought it was a sending-off."