Paul Simpson said he was “absolutely gutted” for his Carlisle United players after a good performance at Portsmouth was dashed at the death.

Simpson insisted his side did not deserve to lose the game after Conor Shaughnessy’s 93rd-minute header crushed the Blues.

United’s boss, though, also reflected that the goalscoring shortcomings that have dogged his side so far this season still need to be addressed.

Carlisle came close to a second-half winner as they performed valiantly against the unbeaten leaders.

But then Shaughnessy struck from a last-gasp corner.

“I’m absolutely gutted for the players out there because we certainly didn’t deserve that, that’s for sure,” said Simpson.

“I thought we came here with a really solid game plan which the players executed magnificently well.

“If I’m honest, we should have made a bit more of the opportunities we had. We’d got ourselves into a position where the crowd had turned and they were getting frustrated, but it’s those fine margins when you’re at the bottom or at the top.

“There’s a difference in it and unfortunately we’ve been done with it.”

Portsmouth had the better of the first half, with top scorer Colby Bishop missing a golden chance, but United hit back after the break.

News and Star: Callum Guy on the attack at PortsmouthCallum Guy on the attack at Portsmouth (Image: Barbara Abbott)

Alfie McCalmont hit the post and sub Dan Butterworth was denied a dramatic winner by a 90th-minute Will Norris save.

John Mousinho’s side then went up the other end and scored through defender Shaughnessy.

Simpson said of the winning goal: “I think two of their players ran into each other and knocked Jack Armer forward a little bit, so it put him off a little yard. “He still got there to compete but because he was backtracking he couldn’t quite get the spring to be able to compete.

“It was a good delivery, and he’s a big lad, Shaughnessy – he gets the head on it and it’s cruel.

“When you’re up at the top you get those things go your way. We didn’t quite get it going our way which is the story of our season and the frustration of our season.

“But we can’t allow it to get ourselves too down about it, we’ve got to be ready to go again.”

United remain 20th in League One after back-to-back defeats.

“Portsmouth are a good side, the league table doesn’t tell lies, they’re up at the top because they deserve to be,” added Simpson.

“But I thought we did a lot of good things, we caused them problems. When we got the ball down and passed it, we got into little pockets.

“We just needed that extra little bit in the final third which is the story of our season unfortunately.

“We’ve got to keep working, keep going and take the positives out of the game to make sure we get some belief from it and build on it.”

Simpson, meanwhile, saluted the superb 676 travelling fans who sang throughout the game on United’s longest trip of the league season.

“To make this trip down here was absolutely outstanding from every single one of them,” he said.

“They stayed with us as well. I think they saw there was a level of performance, there was a work ethic, some really good football that probably deserved a bit more.

“It would have been nice to get a goal at that end in front of them. It’s really positive that they’ve come and made this journey and stuck with us during the game.”