JONJO SHELVEY TOLD Swansea he was sorry for gifting his old club two first-half goals in tonight’s 2 – 2 Premier League draw with Liverpool.
Shelvey played a part in all four goals at the Liberty Stadium, but after giving his side an early lead he passed the ball directly to Daniel Sturridge and Victor Moses, both of whom scored as a direct result.
“I’d just like to say sorry,” a disconsolate Shelvey mumbled sadly in a post-match interview with SkySports.
“I’m disappointed that I gave away two goals that gifted Liverpool a draw really. I thought we deserved more than that.
“Obviously it started tremendously, getting a goal and that. Then the two mistakes and that, but we showed a bit of character to keep getting on the ball and set the next goal up.”
Asked if the adrenaline rush from his opening goal perhaps made him rush into the blind back-pass which provided Liverpool’s equaliser, he said:
“I didn’t really want to celebrate. Obviously at Liverpool, I’ve huge respect for the fans and I loved every minute of being there, but it’s hard to hide emotions – then two minutes later you give them a goal.
“It was good to score, but I’ll be kicking myself tonight knowing I’ve made those mistakes.
“You wish you could just go into a hole where no one can see you, but football’s about coming back from things like that.
“I’ve seen Stevie [Gerrard] gave the ball away to Thierry Henry before. I was going to ask him what it was like during the game, but it’s just a horrible feeling, you wouldn’t wish it on your worst enemy. That’s football at the end of the day.
Swansea boss Michael Laudrup added afterwards that he and his coaches needed to offer words of encouragement to their new signing at half time.
“When you do that,” Laudrup said, “you go from heaven to hell in just a couple of minutes.“i think we have to remember he is only 21 years old, but I said to him ‘come on, we have 45 more minutes. You have to learn from this and pull yourself together.’
“I think he did great, a second half like this. I think he will come stronger out of this. His reaction to what happened in the first half was excellent.”
Though Shelvey would go on to nod down Michu’s equalising goal, he remained inconsolable in the hot glare of the TV cameras.
“It was a bit of a relief, but I still feel I’ve given Liverpool a draw.”
