Skipper Tam keen to take positives from manic Carlisle draw
Town captain Tamika Mkandawire admitted to feeling a state of shock as Carlisle hit two goals in the final four minutes to leave Town on the verge of defeat, if not for an even later leveller.
The matchup ended 2-2 at the Greenhous Meadow and Mkandawire suggested there were far more positives than negatives, including Parry’s stoppage time goal, despite the meltdown in the final four minutes to surrender the lead.
“I think after the 90 minutes we have to take out the positives and be glad that we took a point to end a three game losing spell,” said Mkandawire.
“So although we’re disappointed not to take three points, one is better than none.
“It was a bit of a shock to be honest, we didn’t see that coming. I thought we controlled the game well and played some really good stuff, so when they scored the second it was a bit like, so here we go again, but we showed great character and we kept trying to pass it.
“Paul Parry’s nipped in and scored a great goal, so there are a lot of positives to take out of the game, we’ve just got to iron out a few creases but were not far away from where we want to be.”
A final five minute meltdown saw Town go from 1-0 up to 2-1 down, but Tam echoed manager Graham Turner’s thoughts that neither goal should’ve stood.
“It was a bit of a mad five minutes I think. I think the first one actually was actually offside from the original cross and I think the second one Woodsy got fouled, but we should be able to hold out for the 1-0 victory. We’ll work on it throughout the week and we’ll try and put the mistakes right.”
The captain had been out of action for a while through injury and he voiced his pleasure at his return to the fold, but insisted that the full focus is now on preparing for the visit of Gillingham next week.
“It was brilliant to be back. Any injury is very frustrating for any professional, so I’m very pleased to get 90 minutes under my belt.”
“We’ve got to be looking to win that game against Gillingham. We always go into games looking to get three points. That’s the intention and we’ll do that again next Saturday.”
Snap up your tickets here for the Gillingham clash on Saturday (12 October) 3pm k/o.