Gary McAllister Reflects On The Match

Last updated : 13 May 2008 By Thetashkentterror

Gary McAllister
Whites boss Gary McAllister spoke to BBC Radio Leeds after his side's 2-1 defeat at home to Carlisle in the first leg of the League One play-offs semi-final, McAllister suggesting that his squad is lacking in natural wingers :


" The late goal keeps us in the tie, I felt that even at 2-0 we'd still be capable of going up there and making Carlisle work hard for it, but that just puts a little different picture on the game. It was very exciting, I did say to the lads that it was going to be a game of 180 minutes and I've got a feeling that this tie is going to go right to the final minutes of it at Carlisle as well.

" I was just trying to get Paul Huntington to get a cross in because there wasn't a lot of time left, and I think that we scored on 95 or 96 minutes. I've got to applaud my players for their effort, they kept going way past the 90 minutes. At times we've got to just tighten up on that final pass, we had some good possession but our end product wasn't quite there.

" In saying that we made their keeper (Keiren Westwood) work and their keeper produced. Carlisle came here and played well, possibly deserved their victory, but it's still game on. I think that the save in the first-half from Jermaine (Beckford) was particularly spectacular, from the angle that we were at in the dugouts it was a goal the whole way. It was a fantastic save, he is a keeper that has obviously impressed a few people over the season and he lived up to his billing tonight.

" Of course we're very disappointed, we got caught on a few counters and some of Carlisle's attacking play on the break was good. In an open first-half though we did create chances as well, and our final ball wasn't as good as Carlisle's. I've got to say that the crowd stayed with us the whole distance and that was important. Because obviously there was a wee bit of frustration there but they stayed with us the whole distance, and we fully appreciate that.

" We would have been disappointed with 2-0 but it wouldn't have been a case of surrendering, 2-0, I would have felt that we would still have been in the game, but just getting that goal makes that slightly different. I think Dougie (Freedman) would admit that he wasn't at his best tonight. On a few occasions he made some poor decisions but Dougie knows that, I don't have to tell him that. The fact that these games come, the turnover is quite quick, it was a real open game, it was box-to-box. There will be tired legs come the last 10-15 minutes at Carlisle. "



" Jermaine will be sore but we'll get him out for a warm-down and we'll just have a look at him in the morning, I thought that he was just starting to feel it a little bit when I took him off. Everyone else is fine though, so we're picking from 19 or 20 again. It's game on and I'm looking forward to it, it's going to be exciting up there. We're not blessed with wide players at this club, I came here and there were 10-12 midfield players.

" So we've had to put people in wide areas, there are no wide players apart from Seb Carole. I just feel that with him (Bradley Johnson) being naturally left-footed it gives us that balance at left-back. I thought that he did fine tonight, but, like I said earlier, he was part of the complication of going into the final third. His quality and his final little pass can be better.

" They've got a system, they play five across the middle and they look to counter and they play with one up. I've got a particular way that I want to play and hopefully as the seasons go on we try to get the players in to fit into that system. I can't ask for any more of the players though, they have bought into everything that I have tried to pass onto them.

" They are the home side on Thursday and are they going to protect it or are they going to go and try to score? We now what we have got to do, we are not going to go there to defend, we need to score goals. The late goal just puts a different perspective on the whole game now, scoring so late on. I feel that since arriving here that the squad and players are capable, if we are at it and playing to our potential, that we are capable of winning games. I won't change going up to Carlisle on Thursday.

" Plenty of rest now, utilise the facilities, the boys will be in the pool tomorrow. They will warm-down, the masseurs will be in, we'll do it professionally, I'm not too bad at the moment. I've said to (Thommo) Alan Thompson that there are hopefully two games to go, he was involved, he was in the squad tonight, you just never know. "