We spoke to head coach Mike Williamson after tonight’s Bristol Street Motors defeat against Wigan.
“I thought it was tricky because we played against a very good team that have got a real way of playing,” he said. “With the way it started, it was hard. But I thought we grew in character and obviously wanted to look after a lot of the first-team boys that picked up knocks at the weekend.
“It gave us an opportunity to see a lot of the young lads, and I thought we grew into the game and in the first half we showed some good periods with the way we controlled it. In the second half we came out and we showed the same bravery.
“In the last 15-20 minutes we went down to 10 men, so we just had to see that through, but there was a lot of positives to take.
“The penalty obviously disrupted us, then there was a mistake and we're 2-0 down. That's when you're staring down the barrel of a really tough night.
“But I thought the boys just showed so much character and personality and stuck with it. And I said after the game that as young professionals, you're going to have a lot of adversity. And from what we've seen and how they finished the game, it's the real characteristics to come through that.
“I think the good passages of play ultimately didn't end up with us getting into their final third and creating anything of note. But it comes down to decision-making and quality on the night, which we say we can accept and understand that.
“What we don't accept is a lack of character and resilience, but we got that in spades.
“It’s a real testament and a real good workout for the young boys. And obviously getting some first-team boys back, which is a real positive.”
The result means we're out of the competition, which we asked Mike about: “It’s disappointing because we want to win games and we want to create that winning mentality. But the bigger picture at the minute is we're nursing quite a few knocks from the weekend.
“We've got a really big game away on Saturday, so we've got to make sure that we use that to get the boys back on the training ground as quickly as we can.
“Terell is missing through international duty and it’s about assessing the rest of them in the next few days. We've got a couple of lads who will be doing part of the session tomorrow and then see how they are Friday. But hopefully we'll know more by tomorrow afternoon, really.”
Hayden Atkinson, Dan Hopper and Seb Mason made their first-team debuts, which Mike spoke about: “Hayden recovered well after giving the penalty away, and that's going to be the test of his level, his ceiling, his reaction to setback. He showed a lot of personality and a lot of character because it wasn't easy. And he's somebody you can see the enthusiasm and he wants to do well.
“He's got great honesty. To give a penalty away can really get in a young player's head, but he worked through it and he grew. And I thought he got better as the game went on, which is a real bonus.
“It was good to get Dan and Seb on the pitch against a really good team that are organised, that play good football and that can hurt you all over the pitch. But yeah, it's fantastic exposure for them.
“They came on and just showed a willingness to run and do the right things, and that's all I can ask.”
Callum Guy made his return to first-team action after 11 months out: “It was really good to get Callum back on the pitch.
“It was brilliant for him and Taylor as well. I know Callum has been out a lot longer and I think it's a massive boost for the football club to have him back. We've got to make sure that we build him up in the right way. It's not too much too soon.
“Having him on the football pitch is a really good sign, but we just have to keep assessing them, we're not going to rush them. We know we might have to make some calculated decisions in terms of them being involved in the squad, because we want them back as soon as we possibly can. We've just got to make sure we keep building the load. Callum hasn't had a huge amount of training since a long lay-off, so we've just got to listen to the medical staff and make decisions from that.”
United ended the game with eight Cumbrians on the pitch and nine players from the academy, which we asked Mike about: “It’s a fantastic night for the club. It was a difficult evening in terms of the result and the performance, but the spirit, the character that they showed was fantastic. It’s a really good night for that side.”
