Carlisle United boss: ball in play just 41 minutes against Stevenage

The period of the ball being in play was much lower than all the Blues’ other league fixtures this season according the manager.

Simpson said he cited the statistic not as a criticism of Steve Evans’ side, but as a way of highlighting the difficulty of that particular fixture.

Last weekend’s opponents were criticised by Blues fans for their attempts to slow the game down and waste time.

Simpson admitted the visitors made the game hard – but also said Carlisle should have done better when the ball was in play.

“Stevenage was difficult because we had no flow to it. We had 41 minutes ball in play, which is the least we’ve had in any game this season,” he said.

“It’s normally up around 58 to early 60s. It’s a big difference. And there’s not a lot you can do about it.

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“We can talk to the officials about it, but they make the rules and I’m not going to fall out with officials over it – we have to abide by it.

“It makes it very difficult to get any flow and tempo to the game. And this isn’t a criticism of Stevenage, they’re good at it.

“They’re second in the league so they’ve obviously done it really well over the season. We have to accept that – and they caused us problems as well.

Steve Evans' side drew 0-0 with the Blues at Brunton Park (Image: Barbara Abbott)

“We should have used the ball better when it was in play than we did.”

Last Saturday’s game ended in a goalless draw between the two promotion rivals.

Simpson doubted whether any of United’s remaining nine games would unfold in quite the same way.

“Probably not to that degree,” he added. “Look at the teams we have to face.

“Gillingham fighting for their lives and want to win games, Tranmere fighting possibly for a new manager, and there’s always that edge with Tranmere…I remember playing against them in Man City’s A team, and there was always a fire about those games.

“There’s Walsall, where there’s something going on between us and Walsall for whatever reason. Salford have lots to play for, Barrow, Northampton Stockport…all have something to play for.

“I’d be really surprised if that [the Stevenage type of game] is how it was. If it is we’ve just got to make sure we handle it really well.”

United head to Gillingham this weekend after back-to-back goalless draws.

“Over two games I think we’ve done really well and kept clean sheets,” Simpson added. “Now the challenge is can we do better in that final third to take it from a point to three points.”