Exeter City manager Paul Tisdale reacts to the 3-3 draw with Carlisle United
Exeter City manager Paul Tisdale believes his side were “unfortunate” in their 3-3 draw to Carlisle United at Blundon Park.The Grecians were in an excellent position in the first leg of their play-off semi-final in Cumbria as they took a deserved 3-1 lead.
But they were pegged back by two quick-fire goals from John O’Sullivan, whose fortunate cross ended up in the City net, and Shaun Miller who headed in from close range.
The Grecians were also left feeling hard done by when Ollie Watkins and Reuben Reid both had goals disallowed for offside, despite some replays suggesting otherwise.
Following the result, the City boss said: “I think we were rather unfortunate. I don’t think we’ve had our fair share of fortune of the season.
“We played so well today. We weren’t here holding on to grab a draw, we tried to win that game and I think we probably deserved to do so.
“We had that game in the palm of our hands. Ok, there’s not much you can do about a deep cross that goes off the post like it did, it was just a fortunate goal.”
With City in what seemed a commanding position as they looked to strengthen their lead ahead of the second leg at St James Park on Thursday night, Tisdale admits while disappointed with the result, Thursday night could be a different encounter.
“That’s the way it goes, 3-1, could have been 4-1 and the next minute it’s 3-3.
“We’ve got level scores going back to the park on Thursday and we’ll have to give it a go.”
“We responded really well, we could have got a fourth when Jake Taylor hit the post in the final minute and Ryan Harley having a shot blocked in injury time. It was a terrific performance I’m so proud of them.
The City manager also praised the impressive Joel Grant who notched the first goal for the Grecians, and Craig Woodman’s return to first team action after an injury lay-off.
He continued: “Joel was excellent, and Craig hasn’t played a game for a while. He was challenged a fair bit today physically and got a nasty knock before he came off. But we’ll assess that and we are not finished yet.
“There will be lots of twists and turns. We’ve earned this opportunity and we’ve got to go and enjoy it.”