Paul Simpson left frustrated by Stockport County draw as Carlisle United promotion hopes falter

Paul Simpson felt as though the game was 'fantastic for the neutral.' Credit: PA

Paul Simpson was left frustrated his side could not claim all three points against fellow promotion hopefuls Stockport County.

The Carlisle United manager criticised the referee for his performance in the match and described the game as "fantastic for the neutral."

The Blues fell behind in the first half as Myles Hippolyte opened the scoring for the visitors.

A change in formation, at half time, saw Jon Mellish pushed into midfield as Carlisle took a foothold of the game in the second half.

Carlisle United are currently fifth in League Two after 43 matches played. Credit: Carlisle United

Mellish scored the equaliser, before Owen Moxon scored a 83rd minute goal. Celebrations were cut short though as Stockport County equalised with just four minutes remaining of the game.

Speaking to the club's website, Paul Simpson said: "The second half was outstanding. We had a proper go, but I have to say that in the first half we didn’t.

“You could maybe look at the shape we set up with, but I still think even in the shape, we didn’t get up to the ball and win second balls and we allowed them to get a foothold in the game.

“The first goal might be a great finish, but it looks as if he’s mishit it to me, I don’t exactly know what happened. We went in 1-0 down at half time and I changed the shape because it just wasn’t working for us.

“We had to try and be brave and get some energy and legs about us. Jon Mellish was the catalyst for that with his running and chasing. I’ve said it all along, if you don’t work and chase people and make them make mistakes, you aren’t going to get anything."

Simpson was left feeling frustrated with how quickly the visitors equalised after Owen Moxon gave his side the lead.

He said: "There was too little time between us scoring and them getting the equaliser, but I would imagine as a neutral it was a fantastic game to watch. I thought the atmosphere inside the ground was absolutely outstanding, and that’s what football games are all about.

“There wasn’t even any time for us to calm it down after we’d scored to go ahead,” he added. “I think the ball was in play for about 40 seconds between the two goals, we just didn’t have the opportunity to be able to do it.

“We blocked the first cross and we were two against two in the wide area, and sort of half closed down instead of going the extra yard or even extra half yard to maybe take one for the team. I’m sure it was a really entertaining game for everybody to watch, but I just think we missed a trick by not getting the three points."

Simpson then turned his attention to the referee saying that he was surprised Stockport did not receive a penalty near the end of the game.

He said: "I thought we got a bit of luck right at the end because I thought there might have been a chance of a penalty for them, but I’m not surprised with this referee.

“I really hope we don’t get him again because I think he’s been poor on both occasions, unfortunately. And things haven’t quite gone our way and there were little bits of luck that we haven’t had."

After a lacklustre performance in the first half, Simpson was full of praise for his side for how they performed after half time.

He said: "I thought they were outstanding second half and the put a real shift in. We now need to get freshened up because we’ve got an absolutely brilliant game to look forward to on Saturday.

“The players have shown in the second half that they wanted to have a go. There were some grumbles in the first half but we’ve been consistent with our shape this season and we’ve made in-game changes.

“We needed an in-game change tonight because it needed it at half time, and thankfully it worked and we got some momentum. I’m just disappointed we weren’t able to get our game management right after we scored our second goal, and that’s something we might need to look at to try and be better at it for the next time.”


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