Carlisle United manager reacts to win over Shrewsbury Town

The Blues’ 2-0 victory over Shrewsbury Town sees them up and running at the sixth attempt.

The well-earned win at Brunton Park came via a Tom Bayliss own goal and a Joe Garner strike.

It lifted some of the recent tension at United after their struggle for wins and goals since promotion.

“It’s a relief, to start with,” said manager Simpson.

“It’s a reward for the players for all the work they’ve put in, that’s the massively pleasing thing.

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“We do all feel the tension, we do all feel the weight of expectation, the weight of not winning a game.

“To get [the win] was just an absolutely brilliant feeling.

“The way we went about it was really good and I just had a good feeling about the day. I was just hoping it wasn’t me being deluded, and thankfully we’ve got three points.”

Paul Simpson on the touchline during the 2-0 win (Image: Ben Holmes)

Carlisle had the better of the first half without scoring, but made the breakthrough when Owen Moxon’s 57th-minute corner went in off Bayliss.

Luke Plange hit the post while the Blues were defensively strong against Matt Taylor’s visitors before Garner clinched it in added time after good work by fellow sub Terry Ablade.

It was United’s first win at third-tier level since April 5, 2014.

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“I didn’t really know what happened with the first goal,” Simpson said. “Owen Moxon has taken a number of excellent corners this season and this one was one of his worst, but we’ve had a bit of luck.

“And I don’t care. It’s probably the first bit of luck like that we’ve had.

“To get that second goal and to nullify the last couple of minutes of the game, and get a clean sheet, is huge.

“It gives us so much confidence, and the players have earned that in the way they’ve defended and kept the mistakes to a minimum.”

Simpson enjoyed the way Carlisle kept at Shrewsbury even when their initial efforts led to frustration.

“I thought we grew into the game,” he said.

“And at 1-0, when they were chucking every forward player on, putting more attacking wide players on, we knew we were going to have to defend for our lives.

“I thought the back three [did that], Jokull [Andresson] came and took some balls and made a good save at the near post with his feet, Callum Guy did a real good job out of possession…I just thought everybody stuck to their jobs.

“We know there’s things we need to do better. But we have to remember we’re Carlisle United, we’re not Manchester City or Real Madrid. This is where we are and what we’ve got, and we’ll keep working to try and be better as much as we possibly can.”

Simpson felt defender Sam Lavelle had his best game since joining the Blues, and also praised United’s fans for the atmosphere they created during the win.

“There were a lot of good things from the players, a lot of good stuff from the supporters, and it gives us something to build on,” he added.