United assistant manager Graham Kavanagh (GK) spoke to BBC Radio Cumbria's James Phillips (JP) after Carlisle's 1-0 win at home to Hartlepool, Kavanagh saying that the sending off of Liam Noble late in the first-half galvanised the Cumbrians :
JP
I say there out of adversity, a man (Liam Noble) sent off at the end of the first-half, looked a little harsh, I will ask you your opinion on that later, but did that get the reaction from your team tonight?
GK
It probably did to be fair, it galvanised the team to go down to ten men. Probably a little bit naive on Nobs' part, I think the conditions played into the opposing player's (Anthony Sweeney's) advantage if you like. Nobs has slid from probably five or six yards away and I think the momentum with the wet grass has taken him into the player. He did go with one leg, his leg was raised, I think he might have caught the lad slightly, probably a little bit harsh the red card but I can see why he (referee Russell Booth) gave it. But, that is Liam's inexperience, he is very honest as are all our midfield players, a great work-rate, but he will be disappointed now to miss three games.
JP
Chris Lumsdon immediately said that Sweeney is not the sort of player to go rolling around without being hurt, he was hurt. But, he felt it was more of a yellow than a red, would you go along with that?
GK
Initially that is exactly what I thought, but then as Mick Wadsworth said, if the shoe was on the other foot we would be wanting a red card. So, it hasn't cost us this evening and we are obviously really pleased with that, ever so pleased with the clean sheet and with the three points. It was a difficult evening because Danny Livesey was down to play and he pulled his hamstring in the warm-up. So, it has certainly been a difficult evening for us but we have come away with three points and a clean sheet. I am not really sure if they (Hartlepool) had a shot on target, so it has been a really good performance and we now march on for Saturday with a lot of confidence.
JP
I think (Andy) Monkhouse maybe had one half-hearted one but they really didn't threaten your goal did they, and that is testimony to the way that the team played, in particular after the weekend letting a few goals in against a brilliant side (Brighton), you really did keep Hartlepool away tonight?
GK
We did, credit to the players, the game at the weekend, conceding four away, I think going to Brighton if we score three then we are expecting to win that game because we haven't looked like conceding four all season. But, the gaffer (Greg Abbott) stuck with the same team apart from Rory (Loy) and brought Francois back in. A fantastic goal from Francois in a game that he probably wasn't doing a great deal going forward for us. But, he shows that little bit of brilliance that he has, a fantastic overhead kick and it is enough to give us the three points.
JP
With sentiment aside on this one, how impressed were you with Peter Murphy's performance today after struggling at times with the Brighton strikers at the weekend?
GK
Well, I think first and foremost with Murphy you are always going to get honesty from him, you are going to get honest performances. That is why the lads are at the level we are at, it is League One and we are all here for a reason. Murph has had his problems but he has also done very, very well. I think Saturday was a little bit of a difficult game for the back four and they came under criticism as you would expect conceding four goals away from home.
But, I thought that tonight him and Coops (Liam Cooper) did exceptionally well, they won the majority of the balls that came up, the first balls, which enabled us then to get up the park and we could squeeze the play. Especially with the extra man they had in midfield in the second-half, they never got between our lines too often, so it is credit to the two centre-halves and the team in general. We had contemplated going 4-4-1 but we felt we would be camped in for long periods, so we went with the 4-3-2 and it worked.
JP
What about the goal that won the match for you? Tell us your view of that one from Francois Zoko?
GK
Well, I mean we have been asking the full-backs to get forward as often as we can, and when we do that the other opposite full-back will tuck around and we still have a three v two at the back which we were comfortable with. Frankie (Simek) got down the right, delivered a very good ball into an area, but once it missed the first man it was hanging in the air and I wasn't too sure what he was going to be able to do with it. But, he leapt obviously very well and the overhead kick was a fabulous finish and a goal that is no doubt going to be a contender for goal of the season.
JP
It was fantastic, it drew the immediate comparison with Wayne Rooney from a couple of fans and myself, but Wayne Rooney could watch that one all the way onto his foot, Zoko had to adjust because it deflected across and it was behind him and past him and I don't know how he did it, perhaps you can tell me?
GK
Yeah, I am sure I will be able to tell you, I certainly couldn't get two legs off the ground like that, there is no way in the world. But, fair play, up to that point Francois had been a little bit innocuous I suppose, he wasn't getting hold of it the way we would expect, complicating the game a little bit. It is difficult isn't it, it is Francois's first season and there is an awful lot of expectation on him because of the type of player he is.
He is that flair player that can open a barn door up when it is really, really quiet, and then we are struggling at times, everybody looks to Francois and Ben Marshall. That is an added pressure that he is getting used to, he has probably been more comfortable in the home games than he has possibly been in the away games. But, up until that point we were considering taking him off, but then he produces that and we all know he has that magic within himself.
But, it is fantastic, a home game, the fans haven't seen too many wins over the last month or so, all our victories have come on the road. So, it is great and pleasing for the fans, a little bit of a pity that there couldn't have been more here tonight but there is obviously a big Champions League game on and we understand that.
JP
Could you just clarify whether it will be a one-match or three-match ban for Liam Noble? Do you know that?
GK
Well, we think it is going to be a three-game ban, he was devastated, he was very upset at half-time and he felt he had let the lads down. I think that is all credit to him as a person and a player, he is extremely honest, he is the very first one when he makes a mistake to come in at half-time and put his hand up. But, he gives you that honesty and sometimes when you see people upset the way he was, it is quite refreshing. So, no hard feelings, he is going to learn from it, he is going to move on and it hasn't cost us tonight, so it has been a great night.
JP
And do you know if Danny Livesey is now a doubt for the weekend or is there a hope that he might just be able to recover from this one?
GK
Well, I would have thought he would be a doubt considering he has pulled up in the warm-up, so I am sure that will be assessed over the next couple of days, see how he is to travel on Friday and we will just look at it again then.
JP
Peterborough won again tonight, 1-0 at Notts County, they are knocking on the door of automatic promotion, it is not going to be an easy one for you but hopefully you will feel that you have got a bit of momentum now?
GK
Yeah, if you look at the whole league, possibly League Two/League One and even the Championship this season, the majority of games, none of them are bankers any more and every team is capable of beating each other. I am sure Peterborough will be at home expecting to be favourites but we have had a lot of good wins on the road of late. We have got a very good team spirit, we have got a really good understanding about the shape and the system we play.
We have got youth, alright we have got inexperience, but they give you legs, they give you great work-rate and that is all you can ask. Then we are hoping the likes of Ben Marshall and Francois Zoko can nick us a goal. Then also we have got people coming off the bench, we have got young Nahki (Wells), we have got young Paddy (Madden), we have got Rory, who are all still very much learning our style of play. Learning the way the league is because they are new to it, and they are adapting really well and the more minutes they get over the course of the season will only stand them in good stead for next season.