Alex Revell delighted as Stevenage make light work of 10-man Carlisle

Posted Sunday, March 21, 2021 by PA

Alex Revell hailed the best performance he has seen as Stevenage manager after his team cruised to a 3-1 win over 10-man Carlisle.

Tom Pett put the hosts ahead after Rod McDonald was sent off for Carlisle, who restored second-half parity when Brennan Dickenson scored.

But Luke Norris and Arthur Read fired home in the final 30 minutes to give Stevenage a win their boss felt was more than deserved.

“Some of the football we played at times was outstanding,” said Revell. “It’s really pleasing to see a lot of the things we’re working on coming out, and the move before the sending off was fantastic.

“To see it happening more and more, and an end product, is really pleasing.

“There’s still loads to improve on, the goal was disappointing and certain things we need to work on in the game where we’ve had opportunities to score more goals, but as a day goes, it’s been fantastic.

“We’ve been really frustrated in the past few games, because we haven’t taken those chances, we’ve had opportunities but we don’t find a pass, whereas today we looked a threat every time we went forward.

“In my time here, I don’t remember seeing a performance like that, it’s probably the best performance we’ve had at this ground in a very long time.”

McDonald was dismissed after just 18 minutes when denying a goal-bound Elliott List, with Pett making him pay with a smart turn and volley five minutes later.

But United fought back, Dickenson curling home via a deflection in the second half.

Stevenage always looked favourites for the points and duly delivered, Norris’ fierce shot from the edge of the box on the hour followed up by Read’s late finish with 20 minutes remaining.

“We started the game very well, but what we did do was concede ground on the sending off and then concede on a set play,” said Carlisle head coach Chris Beech.

“To then play with 10 men and do your utmost to get back in the game is commendable.

“But to not hold on after that point long enough to put some anxiety in their team, to concede five minutes after is a stomach blow.

“You can’t feel sorry for yourself, you have to hit things with honesty and straight on.

“We’ve got to make sure we understand why it didn’t go right for us today, and pick a team to be competitive against Leyton Orient.

“We win together, we lose together, and what we need to do is make sure we learn quickly from that.

“We have a fighting chance to win games, and we have 13 left, we need to make sure we do our very best to make sure we’re right at it for those fixtures.”