Manager delivers his immediate reaction following 3-1 defeat to Carlisle.
Steve Lovell said he was very disappointed to be knocked out of the FA Cup on Tuesday night, but has now challenged his players to respond positively this Friday against Fleetwood.
Carlisle won 3-1 at Brunton Park in the second round replay, a result which will see them play Sheffield Wednesday in January.
Following the game the Gills boss said he couldn’t fault the effort of his players, but felt his side should have maximised the possession they had in both halves.
After the game he said: “The first thought is disappointment with the result; I was disappointed with the first half performance and the goals that we gave away.
“We started very slowly and gave the ball away too cheaply which brought them into the game.
“We got back in the game at 2-1 and it was then one way traffic and it was a matter of perhaps we would get a second, but it wasn’t to be and they defended very well.
“They sat very deep so there was no space in behind to use our pace and they tried to catch us on the break and fair play to them, they did it well. We couldn’t break them down in the first half; in the second half I don’t know how many attempts we had but there were loads and we’re just not finishing them off.
“At the end they got their third but we had about seven players up front, you may as well go for it. Now we look forward to Friday and be positive about that one.”