Source: PA
Irvine rues costly wobble
Sheffield Wednesday manager Alan Irvine admitted his side never recovered from falling behind as they went down 3-1 to Carlisle at Brunton Park in the Johnstone`s Paint Trophy.
Goals from Francois Zoko, Lubo Michalik and Ben Marshall put the Cumbrians, beaten by Southampton in last season`s final, 3-0 ahead before Darren Purse notched a consolation for the Owls in their Northern Section semi-final encounter.
Wednesday saw their six-game winning run come to an end and they also lost Neil Mellor, their hat-trick hero against Hartlepool in the previous round, two minutes before the break after an innocuous looking challenge with Michalik.
Irvine said: "I felt we looked quite good for most of the first half but the opening goal rocked us and we never really recovered. Conditions were difficult for both teams but I thought the pitch was playable. They took the risk out of it better than us. The second goal gave Carlisle a big boost and we really wobbled at that point. We had to survive that period but we didn't do it."
Wednesday had penalty claims turned down when goalkeeper Adam Collin got in a tangle with Jermaine Johnson with the score at 1-0.
Irvine added: "Why would Johnson go down? He was round the keeper and bearing in towards goal. The keeper was not going to catch him. It was a massive moment in the game."
