Town boss Mick McCarthy admitted that losing 1-0 in extra-time was a painful manner to exit the Capital One Cup at Crawley. Izale McLeod netted the winner for the League One side in the 110th minute.

“It’s a painful way to go out,” McCarthy said. “I would prefer it not to have been in extra-time and Christophe Berra, Chambo and Elliott Hewitt not having another half an hour.

“What did I make of the performance? I thought bits of it were OK, I thought we had the chances to win the game, but we weren’t good enough, we didn’t score.”

The Blues had chances in the first half, most notably Frank Nouble’s opportunity from an Anthony Wordsworth pass, while McCarthy thought they should have made more of their dominance after the break.

“We had good spells in the second half when could have done better and didn’t. And by not doing so we let them off the hook a few times.

“And likewise the with the goal. Alex Henshall had a chance to put a ball in and it ends up as a corner kick for them instead of us, and they score from there. It was a tough way to go out.”

However, the Town manager took some pluses from the match, despite the loss: “Sometimes you come off the pitch and I’m asked whether I can take any positives out of it.

“Clarkey was absolutely outstanding, I thought Teddy Bishop did well and I thought Steve McQueen, Daz, when he came on did well, to be fair.

“I was really pleased with them and I’ve said to them that I’m disappointed that we haven’t got another game that they could have played in because I think they acquitted themselves really well.”

Bishop came close to winning it late on with a superb strike off the bar and McCarthy wonders whether Nouble should have scored from the rebound.

“[It would have been quite a winner], and then we had the follow-up as well. I haven’t seen it again yet to see whether he could have done better with it. He did well, Teddy’s a good player, I’m delighted with him.”

The Blues boss also had praise for widemen Henshall and Paul Taylor, although felt the ex-Peterborough striker should have scored: “I know what Tayls is about and I thought he could have done better with his chances.

"He opens the goal up and he misses the target completely, he tried to put it in the top corner. If you hit the target you might get a rebound, but he did brilliantly to get in that position and then you just want to hit the target.

“I thought Alex Henshall did well, he’s a work in progress, he’s just a kid who has come from Manchester City and I think we’ll get something out of him. I’m pleased with him.”

McCarthy says Taylor’s situation hasn’t changed: “No, not really, he’s still available for loan or for transfer.”

The Town manager was also pleased with central defenders Berra and skipper Luke Chambers, although wasn’t happy that they had put in such a lengthy shift: “I think they just make us solid, they’re outstanding, the pair of them. I just wish they hadn’t have had 120 minutes today, that wasn’t in the plan.”

Ex-loanee Jonny Williams was spotted in the crowd, but McCarthy says nothing ought to be read into it: “He asked for a couple of tickets and I said he could have two tickets and a fiver out of the till if he wants, no problem there.

“He came to watch the game, I think he’s fairly local. That’s not even a story. I can give you one answer one way or the other and you can make a story out of it.

“He’s come to watch the game, I’ve not had any discussions about him with anybody else. He’s come to watch his mates play, I would imagine.”

Photo: Action Images

TheSelkirk added 23:30 - Aug 12 MM is happy enough to be open and frank when it suits and that includes positive spin AND negativity toward some players. It would have been good then for him to admit that, apart from Taylor, there were players that just didn't turn up on the night and are, quite simply, very unlikely to ever be capable of finding their way at championship level. As has been said, our already small squad is also not the strongest in terms of depth of talent.

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Tractamatt added 23:47 - Aug 12 Took what would be a very weak championship side to Crawley who defended us into submission. I'm not losing sleep over it, Didz Murphy and co back Saturday having had a week of, other than training, to play Reading who put out quite a strong team tonight. A cup run would be nice but promotion is imperative.
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Michael11 added 23:49 - Aug 12 Definitely not losing sleep over it. Wouldn't ever want us to lose a game of football but I always say that I'd rather focus on the league than a cup that no one really tends to take seriously anyway. Hopefully we'll re-group and go full throttle at Reading.
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raycrawfordswig added 00:37 - Aug 13 Keep playing no goals Nouble .It was obvious we would lose.Sometimes MM you are a clown
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ITFCRealist added 00:42 - Aug 13 Painful way to lose? Try being a fan, you moron of a manager, and you will know what painful is. Shocking. Leave now McCarthy, and never come back.
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goleszowski added 01:03 - Aug 13 why can't MM prepare a squad that has enough depth and talent to see off Crawley in the first week of the season? what has he been doing all summer? not fit enough for mid week games? all the new signings showed why they were free.
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algarvefan added 01:35 - Aug 13 The 'Harbingers of Doom' are out early this season, did we just beat Fulham on Saturday!!! This is a worthless cup competition and we have a small squad, why risk injuries and fatigue for this? If some of you can't stay positive until the end of August try taking up interior design or gardening and leave us real fans alone!!!!
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goleszowski added 01:48 - Aug 13 yeah, what are people complaining about? knocked out of cups in first round, mid table and prem prices to watch league 1 players last year Burnley made it to the 4th round in Capital cup
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tractorkent added 05:10 - Aug 13 Maybe the fans can get a part refund, if MM only plays a part team and has no respect for fans who pay hard earned money to support the boys.It annoys that we don't take this competition seriously.. The fans still have to dig deep to find the money,doesn't the club think we would love to see a cup run
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battyblue added 06:04 - Aug 13 For pity's sake give someone else a chance instead of no goals Nouble he could not hit a barn door from two metres.
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PinstripeBlue added 06:32 - Aug 13 We are concentrating on the league is a poor excuse I will have to use all day to the glory hunting Utd, City, Arse, Chelski......, fans I work with. A good cup run would have helped everyone, fans and players alike.
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commuterblue added 06:51 - Aug 13 the only sleep i lost was due to the late finish, we're an hour Ahead in Norway...
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floridaboy added 06:51 - Aug 13 No one mentions Marriott, who it seems did nothing. Yet he was being lauded as our next goalscoring hero What bothers me is that if McGoldrick or Murphy get injured we have NO backup Hopefully there is something in Williams being at the game!
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BondiBlue added 07:08 - Aug 13 Williams is on his way then. Mick's trying way to hard to deny that one!
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ZurichBlue added 07:24 - Aug 13 MM cannot slate his players publicly (apart from Taylor) but from someone who was there the fact is that Nouble had an absolute shocker - one of the worst displays I have ever witnessed from a professional footballer - Bru was also very poor, Wordsworth and Hewitt showed why they are fringe players and did not stake a claim for a start, Clarke and Henshall showed promise for the future, the diminutive Marriot was effectively playing without a strike partner so struggled to get into the game and Taylor was without doubt was our most threatening and creative player. So what does MM do? He takes off Talyor and leaves Nouble on, much to the despair of all those around me. And therein lies the problem with MM - pig headed and stubborn. I like a straight talker but sometimes the things he comes out with rile me somewhat.

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tractorintheloft added 07:36 - Aug 13 The small squad is not MM's fault. Any Manager in any division would want a large squad of professional players pushing each other for a starting pace and adequate cover for injuries. We are trying to fit within FFP and whilst that is still somewhat of an unknown and many may see as convenient for ME this is not MM doing. He is a great Manager who is committed to ITFC and trying to pull rabbits out of hat to make us promotion contenders. He needs our full backing if we are to be successful in this very difficult task. Given our circumstances I would like to know who else could come in and do better. MM & TC are doing a great job please give them the credit they deserve.

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wokingblue added 07:37 - Aug 13 One game doesn't make a season. The script for this was written before game and I am as pee'd off as anyone but I was really encouraged by some of the performances. Matt Clarke looks real class and for a debutant at only 17 years old I thought he had a fantastic game. Alex Henshall also looked really good. Teddy Bishop almost won it for us with a stunning strike and Bru had a good game. I confess I don't see what Mick sees in big Frank and he missed two absolute sitters but this wasn't a revelation from last night. We should have come away with a 3-0 win. Overall not a good outcome but I can see three or four potential new first team regulars in that last night.

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Steelmonkey added 07:45 - Aug 13 Sorry MM but no excuses for not beating Crawley. You might think it's more than painful if you had to put your hand in you pocket to go and support your team. Perhaps you thought the team you put out should have done the job, if that's so I hope your worried. Now if your saying it was just an opportunity to get the reserves a bit of competition, stop moaning that first teamer's had to play 120 mins,because you obviously didn't have to play them. Yes it's a Micky mouse cup, but who is looking the fools today. What it does show is a lack of depth we have in reserve. "Oh well now can concentrate on the league", thought that was a narrich saying.

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shiminywho added 07:57 - Aug 13 I'm sure that MM is right about Joniesta - but what a terrific gesture from the boy. He'll go far.
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TimmyH added 08:11 - Aug 13 We're use to it Mick (in this competition) - not sure the club is that bothered anyway, could have got more revenue from possible bigger fixtures if we got further, but like other years we just haven't showed up.
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Kirbmeister added 08:28 - Aug 13 This site still doesn't change. All positive after Saturday and MM was a god - three days later the second team lose and he is useless again. If we get a good result against Reading I take it all will be ok at least for a few days!! And the Taylor fans? Well MM did play him and he should be doing better than a couple of long range efforts but I've always said he's no good and thats why MM wants rid.

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Steelmonkey added 09:05 - Aug 13 Kirbmeister - No MM is not a god, he is a manager on a very tight budget doing the best for the club as he sees fit. Obviously no interest in advancing in this competition, I personally would have liked us to have been beaten by a better side, just some fans have a bit of pride.
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mroberts added 09:09 - Aug 13 Well another year of being knocked out of the cup in the 1st round. The squad Mick put out last night would have had difficulty beating a Sunday league side let alone a football league side. He persists with Noble who just isn't talented enough, the new signings haven't improved our squad from last season and we have fewer players in the squad. The best player last night was Taylor but MM seems to think our newer signings are better than him. I am yet to see this and where has the money gone from Creswell. Ipswich Fans were told that the money from this sale would be used to strengthen our squad. Nothing has been spent and more free transfers have been included. How many times has this got to be said, free transfers and out of contract players are that for a reason. They are not good enough to have extensions on there current contracts and not good enough to be bought by other teams.

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brian_a_mul added 09:10 - Aug 13 Over all it was a good run out for Clarke, Bishop, Marriott, Henshall and Priskin. Great to see genuine good quality players coming through the academy and making a good effort at senior level. Also shows MM that he has some youngsters he can call upon if needed during the season. Feel sorry for Marriott, if the chances fell to him and not Nouble it could have been a different story. Jacks game is about sticking the ball in the net, he needs the chances and opportunities to do this. As MM and TC said previously Jacks needs to work on his game off the ball. This was evident last night but Im 100% sure he will learn and improve these aspects.

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Drew added 09:38 - Aug 13 Won't lose sleep over it, as far as I am concerned the Capital One Cup is a way of giving youngsters a taste of first team action, and for them to use it as a springboard in their development
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