We spoke to Head Coach Mike Williamson following our defeat to Grimsby Town.
Mike gave his initial thoughts, saying: “I thought in the first half, we controlled it quite well. The boys were showing the bravery we want, you can start to see things that we've been working on and what we're trying to implement.
“I don't think I've seen more of a clear penalty in my life before we scored.
“I thought the boys moved the ball really well. I thought we were in control.
“Then they came out in the second half and they gave everything. That's my main point when watching a group of players. The honesty and the hard work is there.
“We just need to keep improving the concentration and sticking to the principles because I feel as though we came out sluggish and that happens.”
The Blues were well on top in the first-half, and there was a lot to be positive about. The second-half was vastly different, we asked Mike what he put that down to, he responded:
“Obviously fatigue sets in. We're asking the boys to do certain things and under that duress and stress, it makes that more difficult. But we know this is a process and we know the boys come in every single day and they really want to understand it and they want to work their socks off. And that's what we need.
“The levels dropped off and we were disappointed and the boys are disappointed with it.”
Grimsby’s goalkeeper went off injured early on, and was replaced by a 16 year-old, who we didn’t test. Mike discussed that:
“That was disappointing. We got into good positions in the second half and then it just broke down before we were able to enter the 18-yard box. But again, the boys, ran, fought, and battled.
“We lacked a bit of concentration. We turned it over too easily. We got pulled about and we lost our shape.
“But these are things that we can watch it back and we can improve.”
As Mike mentioned, there was a huge early shout for a penalty, we asked if he’d spoke to the ref at all. He said:
“Well, the fourth official said that he had the same view as us, which looked blatant, but the ref had a better angle.
“He said that he just saw a Carlisle player go over the top of the Grimsby player and he didn't see anything wrong with it. So, for me, I've seen it back and it was a difficult one to take.”
The Blues opened the scoring from a set piece, as Sam Lavelle met a Cammy Harper corner for the second time in two-weeks. Mike said:
“Sam’s a leader, he's a real character in that dressing room, which we need. But we've got many of them, so I'm sure we'll dust ourselves off and we've got a really tough game Tuesday.”
Harry Lewis made several good saves for United, yet we conceded three disappointing goals. Mike gave his view:
“He made a few good saves. Their xG was really low, which on any given day, you feel as though you're keeping a clean sheet. But that is life and we've got to make sure that we watch it back and we react to it and we improve.
Jon Mellish was on the bench for the first time, when available, for over three years. Mike spoke about that decision:
“There were a few personal circumstances that played a part. I picked the team based off what I believed at the time, regardless of how many different factors come into it. I just thought he needed a little mental rest.”
And on the absence of Dylan McGeouch:
“He picked up a knock on his calf this week. He's been trying to shrug it off, but it was quite tight yesterday, so he had to pull out.
“We're hoping he’s not out for too long, but at the minute I think it's going to be assessed this week and see how he is.”
Mike received a very warm welcome on his Brunton Park debut, and spoke about the fans:
“The fans were brilliant.
“I really enjoyed that, coming out and taking the lead and controlling large areas of the game. I think they saw a team that were fighting and that were trying. That's the main thing.
“We know we're going to improve the other areas, so we're looking forward to continuing that.”
It’s a quick turnaround, with The Blues facing Notts County on Tuesday night. We asked Mike if he felt that quick turnaround was a positive, he answered:
“Yes, definitely. You want them as quickly as you possibly can.
“We've got to dust ourselves down now. We've got a very small squad at the minute because of injuries. But the lads will be looking forward to it as soon as they get over the disappointment of today.”
