United boss Greg Abbott (GA) spoke to BBC Radio Cumbria's James Phillips (JP) after Carlisle's 2-1 defeat away to Brentford, Abbott saying that the Blues lost the game despite being in complete control of it at one point :
JP
You are probably still trying to work out how you lost that one this evening?
GA
I was disappointed for the players tonight because I thought they were terrific tonight. We were in complete control of the game and all of a sudden a blink of your eye and basically we are 2-0 down and chasing it, we get one back and then we huffed and puffed a little bit to try to get an equaliser.
We had so many opportunities to put the ball in the right area, we got into some great positions, probably if we had got a criticism it was our final ball, our final pass, our bit of finishing. But, we have come here off the back of an awful away performance at Peterborough and we think not even a draw was fair, we think we should have won the game tonight, but maybe we are being a litle bit biased. But, we are feeling a bit sorry for ourselves if you like.
JP
On the game itself, you did create a lot of chances as you have said there, and in particular Craig Curran's chance just a minute before they got the lead, you have got to take these chances haven't you?
GA
Yeah, Craig is disappointed with himself because he misses that...... If he scores that then we win the game, it is as simple as that, and they have gone right up the other end and scored the goal, a really soft goal where we have conceded a header down the middle and we have got the wrong side and the lad (Jeffrey Schlupp) has finished it off alright. But, 30 seconds later we concede, listen, that is the game, the rules don't change and football never fails to give you those kicks in the teeth when you have probably given an opportunity away, but that is the game.
JP
A little bit, I can't quite decide on my word, but a little bit arty-farty trying to get the ball away, maybe just needed to get the ball booted away for both the goals?
GA
Soft goals, for all the quality that Brentford have got, whatever they have, they have not played any type of football that has worried us too much. But, you keep putting the ball in the right area and you take your breaks and that is what happens. The ball has just fallen nicely for them on both occasions, Adam (Collin) will be disappointed with his punch, that is no problem, it is the first mistake he has made in those types of situations for a long, long time, and we have been punished, badly punished, and we are feeling a little bit sorry for ourselves.
JP
You made the point in the build-up to this game that if you did slip up a bit today, unlike in nine days it is not all over here, you can pick yourselves up, you are straight back into action with another game on Tuesday. What do you take from this game and say we did that well enough?
GA
What we are take is that this game is going to be really tight, there are no winners, there is no given winner at Wembley. There are two teams and there is not a scrap between them and although they got three points tonight, they will probably be thinking - hang on a minute, we know that this is going to be tough. It is such a close call, and we have just got the belief now that we know we are going, after Yeovil, obviously we get a good result there and a good performance there and we are in with a smashing chance.
Because, the team that performs on the day because there is nothing, there is absolutely nothing, between the two sides, so that is the dress rehearsal out of the way if you want to call it that. But, we have a big game at Yeovil on Tuesday night, need to get something out of that. We will have a look at that over the weekend with the players and stuff and then we will get our preparations right for a week on Sunday.
JP
I will ask you more about that game because it is just around the corner, but what impressed you about Brentford? What do you think that you can look to exploit when that game comes around in a week's time?
GA
Obviously, they have got a lot of height and they have got a bit of pace through their team, but I don't want to talk too much about Brentford, I don't want them to listen to what we are saying about them. Because, we will look at the gameplan a week on Sunday, but we have got to look forward to Tuesday now, and take the good things out of our performance into Tuesday night and try to get a good result.
JP
But, for fans still umming and aahing about that game at Wembley, about whether to come down, and I have made the point to them tonight that it might be the last time in their lifetime their team is at Wembley. You will have watched that game and you will have I am sure seen some things there that could say - we could get at these boys at Wembley?
GA
We know we can, listen, on our day, if everything goes right we can beat anybody, we have done, but we also know we can get beat by anybody. But, what we are going to do know is we have had a good chat with the players there and we are going to prepare ourselves properly for Tuesday and prepare ourselves properly for Sunday and give ourselves the best possible chance of winning a cup. We want three league points as well before we go if we can possibly get them, and that takes us into the game in much better spirits. But, there is a game there that is so evenly balanced that is should be well worth watching.
JP
Facts of selection tonight, you have been beaten, do you think about whether you move the squad around a little bit to try to get different things? Or do you think that you have seen enough from them and it was just down to little lapses this evening? How do you approach the game on Tuesday?
GA
Well, I will have a look and dust everybody down over the weekend. We will get together on Monday, we will train hard on Monday and we will work on one or two things, we will look at the players and the fatigue levels and who I think is right, and then we will select a team from there. But, there was a really disappointing performance at Peterborough, we put that to bed and I am only using it as a reminder because that one really should have hurt. But, you have seen the way the boys have played the game tonight and the spirit is back, the determination is back and that will just stand us in good stead.
JP
Was the mood still there? Because, in playing as well as they did tonight, and they did play very well and they could well have won, but they did get beaten, was the mood still good at the end of the game? Were they still in high spirits or were they a bit not?
GA
No, listen, we are professional footballers, we have lost a football game and that is we are paid to do. So, they are really, really down, against Peterborough there weren't many positives to come out of it. Tonight there were a hell of a lot of positives and we have told them about that, and then we have told them what football does to you if you make mistakes and concede goals and don't take your chances when you have them, they are the rules that don't change.