The coach of the Wellington Phoenix is ruing what might have been from last night's A-League football loss to Sydney FC in Sydney.
A Kofi Danning goal in the 85th minute was enough for the home side to take the win.
The Phoenix played much of the second half without midfielder Troy Hearfield, who was sent off after a 64th minute flare up with Sydney's Alex Brosque.
Coach Ricki Herbert says the dismissal of Hearfield came at a crunch point in the match.
He says they weren't under too much pressure at any point and were starting to build some decent attacks and get the ball wider.
Herbert says at the end of the day it came down to 10 versus 11 and that was always going to be difficult, but he thinks they deserved to get something from the match.
The loss means the Phoenix head to Westpac Stadium in Wellington on Sunday needing to beat table-topping Adelaide United to keep their finals hopes alive.