Ronald Koeman accepted it hurt to see Everton concede a late leveller at Old Trafford on Tuesday but said he was happy overall with a 1-1 draw against Manchester United.
Phil Jagielka scored from close range midway through the first half to put the visitors on track to bounce back from the disappointment of their derby-day loss to Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday.
But after Jagielka's defensive partner Ashley Williams was dismissed for handling Luke Shaw's drive deep in injury time, Zlatan Ibrahimovic stepped up to convert the penalty and ensure the points were shared.
"Before the game you'd settle for a point, but with how the game went we're disappointed," Koeman told BT Sport.
"We played well - and had a lot of space on the counter-attack - we had to kill the game.
"We were terrific in our defending. Yes, it is really painful. It’s a penalty, but one minute before the end, it’s always painful."
Gutted but Proud of the team ! We did very well ,dont be down even after the late equaliser, we gonna finish the season strong CoybApril 4, 2017
Koeman described his pride at seeing a young Everton team compete at Old Trafford, although dropping two points leaves his side's faint Champions League hopes looking increasingly remote as they trail fourth-placed Manchester City by seven points having played two games more.
"United took all of the risk, but still we defended well." Koeman said.
"They didn't create open chances and I was really confident in our organisation. We missed the final pass in the second half.
"I am pleased by the performance but I did not expect a reaction from the derby because I was proud of the team. I still am. We had seven from 18 players aged 22 or under today. We got one point, maybe we deserved three, but a point is not bad."
