Western Sydney coach Marko Rudan admits he overstepped in singling out youngster Marcus Younis for their 2-1 A-League Men derby loss to Sydney FC.
Down 1-0 after a Fabio Gomes goal, the Wanderers had momentarily salvaged a point at Allianz Stadium when Zac Spasford found the back of the next in the 96th minute.
But their celebrations were cut short less than 90 seconds later when the Sky Blues' super substitute Jaiden Kurcharski volleyed home in the dying seconds to secure victory for the hosts.
Rudan was left visibly frustrated by his side's capitulation and called out 18-year-old winger Younis for criticism over his defensive positioning in the lead-up to Kurcharski’s winner.
"Marcus Younis knows he has to pick up at the far post when we're in the back third, you’ve got to stay with your man," Rudan said after the game.
Rudan has since taken back his evaluation of Younis' performance, claiming his assessment was "harsh of me and wrong of me".
"I was wrong in what I said after the game," Rudan said on Thursday.
"I was a little bit too temperamental. I was really unhappy with what we all saw.
"I shouldn't have done that. I should have been better than that.
"And I spoke to Marcus the next morning about that and told him, 'you weren't at fault' because it's never just one individual, so I take full responsibility and blame for that.
"That's not what I want for my youngsters. The kid did a lot of good things when he came on as well."
With their finals hopes hanging by a thread following the derby defeat, sixth-placed Western Sydney will need to win at CommBank Stadium against Melbourne City on Saturday to lock in their spot.
City, who sit one point adrift in seventh, monstered the Wanderers 7-0 victory in their last meeting at AAMI Park.
Rudan did not front his post-match press conference after that March thrashing.
