Western Sydney Wanderers goalkeeper Jerrad Tyson has questioned the legitimacy of his penalty giveaway to Brisbane Roar but admitted his emotions may have been partly to blame for an over-zealous rush on Jamie Maclaren.
A lapse in judgement from the inexperienced stopper handed a flat Roar outfit Friday's first-half opener on another agonising night for the seventh-placed Wanderers, who levelled after the break via maiden scorer Jumpei Kusukami but were left with no more reward than a fifth draw from eight games.
Having banished the demons of self-doubt against Melbourne City last week, Tyson entered his second A-League appearance in nearly three years full of confidence after replacing maligned No. 1 Andrew Redmayne.
That the 27-year-old imploded moments after superbly denying Brett Holman made it all the more cruel.
Spotting Jonathan Aspropotamitis marshalling Jamie Maclaren into touch, Tyson made an audacious slide towards the pair, his second snatch for the ball instead collecting the Roar striker who made no mistake from the spot.
"I was really happy with that save [on Holman] and probably was flying a little bit too high on emotion, so maybe it was a ball I shouldn't have gone for," Tyson said.
"I thought I could get there and in the end probably went more to block the cross from Macca.
"In my eyes I haven't touched him and he's gone down [but] I spoke to him after the game and he said there was contact.
"At the end of the day the ref has made a decision and I have to live by that."
Popovic took a more diplomatic approach three days after being fined $3,000 for a post-match spray at a referee.
"Moments change games, I always say that. And again we get a decision that the ref was 100 per cent sure was a penalty, which is fair enough," Popovic said.
"The response was great, it shows you the quality in that changeroom.
"They just deserve some reward. That reward will come, I'm certain of that."
For the first time this season, Popovic opted for an unchanged line-up.
That Western Sydney mostly dominated suggests it paid off, and the ever-improving form and fitness of Nicolas Martinez indicates the Argentine playmaker will be one of the league's biggest stars.
Yet final-third profligacy again let down the hosts, whose 19 shots on Michael Theo's rock-solid goal somehow weren't enough for a second win of the season and first at Spotless Stadium.