Neil McDonald On The Yeovil Defeat

Last updated : 12 August 2006 By Thetashkentterror

Neil McDonald
United boss Neil McDonald spoke to BBC Radio Cumbria's Derek Lacey on Saturday evening as he gave his opinion on the 2-1 defeat away to Yeovil Town. McDonald commenting on some indecisive defending that led to a defeat in a game Carlisle had dominated for long periods :


" It was definitely a bitter pill to swallow, we've conceded two poorish goals I suppose, the first one was a little bit of indecision and then the lad has knocked it in, and then the second one has taken a bit of a deflection. We've created fifteen chances but at the end of the day if you don't stick them in the back of the net then you don't win games, and if you give two easy goals away then you get beat.

" I think we tested their keeper on a couple of occasions, maybe half-chances and stuff like that, but even our goal I thought was the best move of the whole of the game. That really put us back in to where we should have been from the start, because I think we dominated possession, we kept the ball well, we moved it on well and that is probably the best we've played this season attacking-wise, creating a fair amount of chances.

" Then in the second-half it's an uphill battle straight away and it doesn't matter who you are playing, teams are going to hang on if they are winning 2-1. I said to the players at half-time, do exactly what you have just done in the first-half, create the same chances but put the ball in the back of the net. At the same time though we were slightly deep in the first-half which I think has cost us the two goals, we've put that right but we just couldn't get the ball past the goalkeeper.

" That's three games this week we've had, and a lot of travelling as well, but that's not making any excuses because the boys were ready for it, I think they showed today, again, that they've given 110% effort. We just need to be a little bit more clever though, but we'll learn as it goes along, we have lots of positives from the game but at the same time we've conceded two goals and lost a game that really we shouldn't have.

" I think Karl Hawley was the best he's been all season, I thought he was fantastic today, he's held the ball up, he's inter-linked and that's probably the best Michael Bridges has played. So, out of the three forwards Kevin Gall probably had the least of the ball and yet he scored our goal, sometimes it works like that.



" Danny Livesey is still my part of my plans for the future, that's why he's in my 18-man squad. He came to me and asked if he could have a word, I said yes as my door is always open to all the players. We had a conversation where I thought he hadn't started off as well as I thought he could, and whether or not he had looked after himself over the summer, and that he wasn't as sharp as the other ones were. Even when he was at Bolton though he was a slow starter, now I don't know if he's been exactly the same when he's been here but he's still got a vital part to play, and I'm sure he'll play lots of games this season.

" The majority of the boys who played three games will probably have Monday off, everybody will be in Tuesday and then we'll probably have a select few in on Wednesday. So they will get two days off to charge their batteries and recover and then we'll start again Thursday and Friday with the tactical stuff for the next game. I said to them at the end of the game that if you concede two sloppy goals then you get beat, so I can pat them on the back and say well done for some excellent football going forward and making lots of lots chances. Without being too boring though I'd prefer to play like we did against Chesterfield, where we come off the pitch with at least a point.

" There are lots of positives to take out of it though, it's certainly not time to say backs against the wall type thing or we're struggling. If we're not creating chances then we're struggling, defensively we've been quite solid in the three games, although the first goal was a little bit of indecision and then the second one has taken a deflection. You got those though and hopefully they will even themselves out towards the end of the season.

" The supporters have come a long way, and they get behind the team which is excellent, as I keep on saying, I hope they can see what we are trying to do. Even when we were 2-1 down we've made a substitution where it's positive, so we've put a midfield player in a forward position and then we've gone, not gung-ho, but four forwards upfront because we were totally on top in the game. We were going to get counter-attacked of course, you are when you are trying to get the second, but if we stay in the game towards the end, if we don't score the second goal then we're going to take a few chances and get the ball forward. We still passed it though, we still didn't go long, we still tried to pass it through and get behind, just the end product wasn't there. "