Keith Curle delighted to get the better of his former side

Posted Sunday, January 13, 2019 by PA

Northampton boss Keith Curle admitted victory over former club Carlisle on Saturday meant that little bit more to him after his side ran out comfortable 3-0 winners.

The Cobblers ended managerless Carlisle’s six-game winning run in emphatic style as they followed a goalless opening period with a dominant second-half display.

Jack Bridge scored either side of the hour mark before he teed up Junior Morias for the third, which secured just Northampton’s second win since early November.

Curle, who spent four years in charge of the Cumbrians, said: “It meant a lot to me personally because the job I had at Carlisle was important to me, but this is the next chapter of my career and I’m employed by Northampton and I can assure you it means a lot.

“Carlisle had one or two chances but as the game grew I thought we caused them a lot of problems. There is still a lot of work to be done within the group but everything we do is about progression and continued growth.

“They were on fine form and had six straight wins coming here but it was important that our focus was about what’s in the building for us and their roles, jobs and responsibilities and, ultimately, performances.

“You’ve got to say we ticked a lot of boxes. There was hard work, discipline, understanding, willingness, desire and application all in abundance.

“We had to weather a storm at times when they had the better of it and we needed to reshuffle.

“There was 15 or 20 minutes in the first half where we got our distances wrong and we weren’t having people in the right areas to cause them problems and they were able to pick us off at times.

“As the game went on and as we grew, I thought we caused them a lot of problems and we could have had a few more.”

Sixth-placed Carlisle had chances and home goalkeeper David Cornell was three times called into action, thwarting Hallam Hope, Jack Sowerby and then brilliantly keeping out Jamie Devitt’s stinging volley.

Caretaker boss Paul Murray said: “I thought we played some really good stuff in the first half. We didn’t start the game well but we put some passes together and cut them open.

“We probably had four good chances. We’ve been clinical of late but we obviously weren’t in the first half today and then the second half wasn’t too good.

“That’s a shot in the arm for us after our good run. We now need to get a result in the next game, it’s as simple as that.

“We’ve got to restart and go on another run. It’s a bit of a shock to the system for the lads but it’s a nice shock because now we know we need to get back onto it.

“There were positives from the game. Of course it’s disappointing to lose but we’ve got to react in the right manner and be positive for the next game and that’s what we’re all about.”