Colombia stand between European champions England and a place in the semi-finals of the Women’s World Cup.

The sides meet in the last-eight clash at Stadium Australia in Sydney on Saturday, with Sarina Wiegman’s Lionesses having edged past Nigeria on penalties despite Lauren James’ dismissal, while the South Americans saw off Jamaica.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look the team England must beat to keep alive their dreams of global glory.

Coach

Renowned for developing talent, 67-year-old Nelson Abadia initially learned his trade in youth and lower-division football and has worked across South America. After a spell in charge of the America de Cali women’s team, he was appointed Colombia boss in 2017 and guided them to World Cup qualification via an impressive Copa America Femenina campaign.

Key players

Two women at opposite ends of their careers have carried the nation’s hopes in some style Down Under. Inspirational skipper Catalina Usme, 33, and Real Madrid’s 18-year-old Linda Caicedo, widely regarded as a superstar in the making, have each scored two of the five goals they have managed in the competition to date. As well as Usme and Caicedo, who finished top scorer in the Colombian league as a 14-year-old, Abadia has Atletico Madrid midfielder Leicy Santos, Levante forward Mayra Ramirez and Real Sociedad defender Manuela Venegas at his disposal.

Pedigree

At 25th, the South Americans are the lowest placed of the quarter-finalists in FIFA’s rankings, but, having already helped see off one of the pre-tournament favourites Germany in the group stage, they cannot be under-estimated. Runners-up to Brazil in last year’s Copa America Femenina, they travelled to Australia and New Zealand not only determined to better their previous best of reaching the last 16 in Canada in 2015, but of making a significant impression. Victory over an England side who, barring their thumping 6-1 Group D victory over China, have not been at their best, would certainly do that.

Style of play

Colombia have been described as “raw” in their approach to the game, an expression which says as much about their physicality – a behind-closed-doors warm-up game against the Republic of Ireland was abandoned at Ireland’s request after a bruising 20 minutes – as it does their freedom of expression. Abadia is not afraid to tinker with a system in which it is pace out wide which provides the threat, although his team is based on the solid foundation of a back four which have conceded only two goals so far in the tournament.

Defender Lucy Bronze admitted England “are not happy” with their World Cup performances so far but vowed the Lionesses will step up in Saturday’s quarter-final against Colombia.

The European champions crushed China 6-1 in their third group-stage contest, but that match remains an outlier in a tournament that has otherwise seen them score just one other goal from open play.

That winning strike came against Denmark from Lauren James, who will miss the Lionesses’ last-eight encounter while she serves at minimum a one-game suspension after she was sent off in Monday night’s last-16 victory over Nigeria.

“We can give more,” vowed Bronze. “We’re a fantastic team with highly-talented players, but the important thing is we got through to the next round.

“There’s no point in playing our best performances in the first games, we might as well save them for the quarter-finals or further than that.

“We’ve built on every game, we’ve taken something from every game, whether that was the Haiti game that was physical, the Denmark game when we lost our key player in Keira [Walsh], the China game we changed the formation completely, [Monday] we had a red card.

“Everything that has been thrown at us, we’ve dealt with and moved forward.

“I don’t see many other teams who’ve had that adversity and if they had, I don’t think they’ve managed to overcome the way we have. At the same time, we are not happy with our performances.”

The 2023 tournament, expanded to 32 teams for the first time, has already provided host of dramatic and often surprising results.

Double defending champions the United States were denied a shot at an history-making ‘three-peat’ after they were eliminated in the last 16 following a penalty shoot-out with Sweden, who are set to play Japan on Friday in one of the most anticipated quarter-final clashes.

That followed a group stage that saw three top-10 sides in Canada, Brazil and Germany ousted and nations far lower down FIFA’s world rankings advance, results that have largely been celebrated as evidence of progress in the women’s game and setting up the most unpredictable finals in the competition’s 32-year history.

World number four England, who have never reached a World Cup final, have so far managed to survive in the face of adversity.

Before kick-off against Nigeria, the name on everyone’s lips was Walsh, who was carried off the pitch on a stretcher in England’s second group-stage contest with what many feared was a tournament-ending injury, but made a stunning return on Monday night.

Yet 120 minutes later, when Walsh began to feel a cramp and was replaced by Manchester United skipper Katie Zelem, it was clear James would be the player in the headlines after she was shown a straight red for stepping on the back of Nigeria’s Michelle Alozie, forcing her team-mates to doggedly battle through extra-time short-handed.

The incident resulted in an automatic one-game suspension for James, though, there is a good chance the 21-year-old’s punishment could be extended to three games, which would include the World Cup final on August 20.

The decision to extend the ban will come from FIFA’s disciplinary committee, who could make the decision after the Colombia contest.

Chelsea forward James, who has since apologised on Twitter, had already contributed three goals and three assists in the group stage so she will be sorely missed for the Lionesses.

“All we can do is go back to training and make sure we are focused on the job at hand. The most important thing is that we’re coming out of games with wins,” Bronze added.

“I think I said that after the Haiti game, and some people thought that was not probably what they wanted. However, we’re the ones who are still in the competition and there’s many top teams who are going home because they haven’t been able to get that point or been able to see the games out in the penalty shoot-out and we have.

“We’ve shown that side of our team that we know what it takes to win.”

West Ham have agreed deals in principle to sign Harry Maguire and James Ward-Prowse, the PA news agency understands.

Manchester United defender Maguire and Southampton midfielder Ward-Prowse have also agreed personal terms with the Hammers.

Maguire remains in discussions with United about the terms of his exit from Old Trafford but the transfer, understood to be worth around £30million, is expected to go through.

The Hammers are also close to announcing the £35million signing of Mexico midfielder Edson Alvarez from Ajax.

The 25-year-old has passed a medical but the paperwork is still being completed.

Meanwhile, West Ham are understood to have knocked back an initial £60million approach from Manchester City for midfielder Lucas Paqueta.

That figure is some £30million less than West Ham would entertain selling the Brazil midfielder for.

However, there could be a player swap involved with Hammers boss David Moyes having long held an interest in City midfielder Kalvin Phillips.

Alvarez and Phillips can both fill the position vacated by the £105million sale of Declan Rice to Arsenal.

Young winger Cole Palmer, who scored in Sunday’s Community Shield defeat by the Gunners, is another player admired by Moyes.

West Ham have agreed deals in principle to sign Harry Maguire and James Ward-Prowse, the PA news agency understands.

Manchester United defender Maguire and Southampton midfielder Ward-Prowse have also agreed personal terms with the Hammers.

Maguire remains in discussions with United about the terms of his exit from Old Trafford but the transfer, understood to be worth around £30million, is expected to go through.

The Hammers are also close to announcing the £35million signing of Mexico midfielder Edson Alvarez from Ajax.

The 25-year-old has passed a medical but the paperwork is still being completed.

Meanwhile, West Ham are understood to have knocked back an initial £60million approach from Manchester City for midfielder Lucas Paqueta.

That figure is some £30million less than West Ham would entertain selling the Brazil midfielder for.

However, there could be a player swap involved with Hammers boss David Moyes having long held an interest in City midfielder Kalvin Phillips.

Alvarez and Phillips can both fill the position vacated by the £105million sale of Declan Rice to Arsenal.

Young winger Cole Palmer, who scored in Sunday’s Community Shield defeat by the Gunners, is another player admired by Moyes.

Jonathan Sayer thought it would be straightforward when he opted to put aside his life as a stage writer and actor to take over the ownership and running of his boyhood football club, seventh-tier Ashton United.

Yet before his first season as an owner in England’s Northern Premier League was a month old, he had been rudely awoken to the harsh realities of life in the world of semi-professional football.

Sayer is better known as the co-writer and star of the West End hit show ‘The Play That Goes Wrong’ and its subsequent BBC adaptations.

The title might have been a better fit for his first year at the helm at Ashton, the club he bought in 2019 in partnership with his dad but which quickly presented far greater challenges than either of them imagined.

Those struggles are the subject of Sayer’s book ‘Nowhere to Run’ which is published on Thursday, an at times comical but mostly revealing look at the realities of balancing a tight budget in the trenches of non-league while striving to keep supporters happy.

Sayer and his dad bought Ashton immediately following relegation after a single season in the National League North, the promised land of the sixth tier that the club had ultimately not been cut out to survive in.

At a meeting to introduce himself to fans, in a rash move he would quickly come to regret, he promised supporters instant promotion. The die was cast for a turbulent campaign.

“The year we were relegated I was filming a TV show in (nearby) Manchester so I was around to go to games on Saturdays a bit more,” Sayer told the PA news agency. “There was a tweet that said the club needed help, so my involvement began like that. I did not at that stage say ‘I’ll buy the club’.

“I’ve had a lot of luck in life and this felt like a way to put back into my community. They had a gap with the wages which I now realise is just an ongoing thing in non-league football.

“I thought it would be a really fun thing to do, particularly for me and my dad to have a project together. I thought it would be easy – put a bit of funding in, be really organised, and it’ll be great.”

The book charts the progress of the pair’s first season in charge, the 2019-20 campaign that was curtailed at non-league level by the Covid-19 pandemic and ultimately expunged from the records.

The season was not a successful one. Despite significantly increasing the playing budget and taking the risk of putting all players on contracts – highly unusual for a club in the seventh tier – in a bid to secure promotion, the team soon became mired in a relegation fight.

Rivals caustically dubbed them ‘Cashton United’, and despite Sayer’s involvement raising the profile of the club locally, the squad failed to gel and results failed to arrive. Despite the investment, there never seemed to be enough money to pay the bills.

There was also farce. After an internal falling out, a club member whom Sayer calls “part of the old guard” absconded with the only keys to the stadium dressing rooms.

A TV expensively installed for the manager to go over footage of matches with the squad stubbornly refused to work even a year later, and an outdoor bar built to raise matchday revenue was shuttered after the council pointed out they had never granted planning permission.

But it was on the pitch where Sayer’s worst nightmares became realised.

“I thought ‘we’ve been relegated, we’ve increased the budget, therefore we’ll go back up’,” he says. “There was all this momentum. But the reality was so hard. The first three or four months we lost a lot of matches.

“I feel like I’m personally letting everyone down when we lose. It’s a robust feedback environment, football. It can be brutal. I’m a sensitive soul and I feel things very acutely.

“Theatre can be similar. You get harsh reviews, people either laugh or they don’t. The difference is that on a show day I can affect things, I can rewrite things and I can rehearse, and all the energy goes into performing.

“With this, you can’t do anything. You have to stand there like an absolute tool. You can clap and cheer, or you can go for the Sven (Goran Eriksson) emotionless approach.”

It is four years since Ashton were relegated to the Northern Premier League. Sayer and his dad are still awaiting the elusive promotion they promised fans in 2019.

Yet this remains a long-term project. After 14th-place finishes in each of their full seasons (Covid also saw the 2020-21 campaign abandoned), there is optimism that lessons have been learnt to finally put the club on track for the step up.

“For me football is just like a play,” says Sayer. “I don’t understand how you can like theatre and not like football.

“It’s exactly the same – it’s people coming together and having shared moments of catharsis and emotion and watching a story with characters play out.”

The company responsible for creating the new font on Premier League kits believe they have come up with a design that will sit alongside previous era-defining styles.

Only a trained eye may notice that the typeface for the players’ names and numbers, as well as the Premier League logo on the sleeve, will be different this season as the league ordered an update for just the fourth time since a uniform font was introduced in 1997.

Avery Dennison, a global materials science and digital identification solutions company, were tasked with the redesign and came up with a “fresh and modern” take, while also increasing visibility.

After being given the seal of approval by commentators such as Martin Tyler and Jim Proudfoot at a test event at Brentford’s stadium, the design was revealed in March.

With famous moments in Premier League history intrinsically linked to the kits players were wearing, Avery Dennison believe they have struck the right note with this design.

“It was just the fourth time the Premier League has changed them so we wanted to create something that would stand the test of time,” senior marketing manager John Ellison told the PA news agency.

“We are confident we have done that. Names and numbers are part of the identity of supporting a football club and we believe our design will create memories that are associated with this design for fans for many years to come.”

With some instantly-recognisable designs of the past, whether it be the shadow-effect of the 1997 design or the more sleek version that was introduced in the late 2000s, it would have been easy to head down memory lane.

But that was never an option as the Premier League brief was an “evolution not a revolution”.

“It’s important to look at the historical designs but they did not heavily influence the final outcome,” Ellison added.

“The Premier League have only changed the design a number of times and when you look back over 30 years, you can see they were right for the time but that doesn’t mean you’d draw too much from those historical designs.

“We knew we wanted something fresh and modern. We tried to run in line with the evolution but the underlying principles were that it would be easily legible and all about visibility at distance.

“It quickly became apparent they weren’t after a revolution, they were after an evolution.

“They wanted to move on from where they are but not flip things on their head. They wanted to build an identity that stayed true to the look of their current branding.”

Avery Dennison, who used automation in the manufacturing process to reduce waste, were also committed to sustainability, with their plant in Norway powered by renewable energy from a nearby glacier.

Ellison added: “Sustainability is at the core of everything we do. At Avery Dennison we use many pioneering and proprietary processes to produce our names and numbers.

“We are committed to sustainability and aim to exceed all industry standards.”

The design was debuted in the Premier League Summer Series in the United States recently and will get its first UK airing when the new campaign kicks-off with Manchester City’s visit to Burnley on Friday.

What the papers say

A player swap between Manchester United and Everton could see Harry Maguire leave the club that signed him from Leicester for £80million in 2019. The Independent reports Everton are considering the move for the 30-year-old while The Daily Mail says United are interested in Everton midfielder Amadou Onana.

United are also willing to open contract talks with Aaron Wan-Bissaka after the transfer window closes, according to the Daily Mail.

The Times says if Tottenham captain Harry Kane leaves the club, they will look towards Gent’s 21-year-old Nigerian striker Gift Orban.

Arsenal left-back Kieran Tierney could leave the club on loan to Real Sociedad who are interested in his services, the Telegraph says.

Social media round-upPlayers to watch

Douglas Luiz: The North London rivalry is moving into the transfer market this summer as Arsenal and Tottenham fight for Aston Villa’s 25-year-old midfielder, Football Insider said.

Neymar: Multiple reports suggest the superstar could leave Paris St Germain and move to Saudi Pro League team Al-Hilal but only if he was able to spend a season at Real Madrid on loan.

Port Vale boss Andy Crosby hailed his side’s character after they twice came from behind to beat Fleetwood 3-2 and progress to the second round of the Carabao Cup.

Vale had been thrashed 7-0 by Barnsley in their opening Sky Bet League One match of the new season on Saturday – and soon found themselves trailing to an early goal from Cian Hayes.

Ethan Chislett equalised with his first goal since joining on a free transfer from AFC Wimbledon, but Ryan Graydon put the visitors back in front at the start of the second half.

Josh Thomas, on loan from Swansea, levelled things up again at 2-2 before Chislett’s second of the night settled matters with 18 minutes left.

“It was an excellent response to the weekend,” Crosby said.

“I said to the players that football is an easier game to play when you are full of confidence and belief – and that obviously takes a big hit with the manner of defeat on Saturday.

“Then you go 1-0 down in your first home game and that makes it challenging, but we responded well. We scored three excellent goals.”

Crosby added: “There is a lot of work to do, but we are pleased with the reaction after a challenging period for us.”

Fleetwood boss Scott Brown was less than impressed by the way his side twice failed to hold on to their lead.

“I thought we were exceptional for the first 10 or 15 minutes, but we completely switched off after that and we became sloppy,” he said.

“(Our) wing-backs didn’t get high enough up the park and the strikers didn’t link up play well enough before half-time.

“We were in total control of the game in the second half and then we made sloppy mistakes and we gave away the goals.”

Brown added: “It is never nice coming away from home knowing you have to score four goals, so we need to stop those mistakes.”

Crewe manager Lee Bell praised his players’ penalty-taking expertise as they dumped Championship Sunderland out of the Carabao Cup.

Crewe pulled off a notable upset as they scored all five of their penalties to secure a 5-3 shoot-out win at the Stadium of Light.

Elliott Nevitt, Chris Long, Rio Adebisi and Joel Tabiner all scored from the spot, before Ryan Cooney converted Crewe’s fifth and final penalty to secure a place in the second round.

Earlier, Luke Offord had headed the League Two side into a first-half lead, with Chris Rigg claiming Sunderland’s equaliser midway through the second half as the game finished 1-1 at the end of 90 minutes.

Bell said: “It is the most exciting way to go through. We practised penalties yesterday, but I think it was a really good performance, everyone put a shift in, as you have to when you come to a place like Sunderland, regardless of what team they started with.

“We were really well organised and showed some real courage when we had the football.

“I am absolutely delighted for the players in the dressing room, who are in there enjoying it now, and for the fans who came here tonight, and rightly so.

“We spoke about how important set-plays are in our division and we have to keep working on them and keep working on how to deliver new ones to the players.”

Sunderland exited the League Cup at the first-round stage, but it was still a record-breaking night for Rigg, who became the youngest goal scorer in the competition’s history.

Rigg also became Sunderland’s youngest-ever goal scorer when he fired home from the edge of the area in the second half to cancel out Offord’s first-half header.

The 16-year-old committed his long-term future to the Black Cats earlier this summer despite reported interest from Newcastle United and Manchester United, and after breaking into the senior ranks last season, is set to play an increasingly prominent role over the course of the next nine months.

Sunderland head coach Tony Mowbray said: “Chris Rigg belies his age a bit. I can be quite harsh on him, and then I sometimes have to check myself and remember that he’s just a 16-year-old boy.

“I expect more from him sometimes, but then I remember just how young he is.

“He played with real discipline tonight. I asked to play deeper in the first half, and he did that. Then I asked him to start breaking into the box in the second half, and he did that and scored.

“It was disappointing in the end because in the first half, we just seemed to pass round and round.

“We played against a League Two side with good organisation and commitment, but we should have had more to have won the game.”

Stevenage boss Steve Evans was thrilled with his side’s display as they claimed a penalty shoot-out victory after a 1-1 draw against Watford in the Carabao Cup.

In a Hertfordshire derby, Vakoun Bayo tapped home for the away side just six minutes in to seemingly put the Hornets in control of the contest.

But Stevenage fought back resiliently, and Josh March’s volley saw the hosts draw level just two minutes prior to the half-time whistle.

Neither side could find a winner in the second half but it was the hosts who held their nerve in the ensuing penalty shoot-out, with Nathan Thompson netting the decisive spot-kick in a 4-3 success.

“When you look at their team, you know they’re going to be on the front foot and full of confidence so we changed our shape and the momentum of the game changed,” said Evans.

“Over the first half and into the second half, we should probably win it in normal time; I know our goalkeeper made a couple of saves late, but we got into some good areas.

“All over the pitch we were good tonight, we had to play really well just to contain and be in the game against a side that is full of talent.”

Watford manager Valerien Ismael rued the Hornets losing control of the contest after a bright start.

He added: “We started really well, we were completely (in) control for half an hour and for no reason we lost control and didn’t play anymore.

“The opponent put us exactly where they wanted so there was no control, it was a hectic game.

“We regained control and in the second half we changed tactically and the team reacted well and we created the big chances of the game in the second half and we have to score the chances.”

Plymouth boss Steven Schumacher was delighted with his “refreshed” side as they beat Leyton Orient 2-0 to win through to the EFL Cup second round.

Argyle’s two-goal cup hero was New Zealand international Ben Waine, who made up for having an early effort ruled out for offside by scoring in the 25th and 38th minutes.

Schumacher said: “We played some really exciting football in the first half and my only criticism is we didn’t get another goal but credit to Orient, they had a right good go in the second half.

“It’s objective achieved because we wanted to get into the next round.

“I thought it was important to freshen the team up from Saturday because Saturday took a lot out of everyone so to make 10 changes and still have that level of performance was brilliant.

“In the first half in particular we showed some real bits of quality, passed the ball really well, created loads of good chances and looked quick on the break.

“Second half we were a little bit scruffy with the ball but credit to them, Leyton Orient came after us a little bit, had nothing to lose. It fizzled out in the end but 2-0, clean sheet, loads of positives and we are in the next round.”

Orient boss Richie Wellens said: “Both goals were mistakes. Obviously the pass back was short, which gives them a good leg-up in the game, and then we over cover far too much and allow a winger to pull back in an area.

“First half they were good. Our press wasn’t. We were so lethargic, and slow and sloppy and reactive.

“And they have got a team that is fresh, full of energy because none of them played at the weekend. They just wanted to play forward and run forward and their two wingers caused us a lot of problems because we didn’t set up for that.

“We were better in the second half, our full-backs stepped up and were more aggressive.”

Preston boss Ryan Lowe was left to reflect on a costly slow start and missed chances after Sky Bet League Two Salford pulled off a penalty shoot-out win in the first round of the Carabao Cup.

Connor McLennan had struck twice in the first half to give the Ammies a shock 2-0 lead.

Preston reduced the deficit just before the break through Ben Woodburn, and then Duane Holmes levelled things up at 2-2 early in the second half.

However, after being unable to complete the turnaround in 90 minutes, spot-kick misses from Ryan Ledson and Mads Frokjaer-Jensen saw Salford reach the second round with a 4-2 win in the shoot-out.

“The first half performance wasn’t what we wanted to see of course, but we got the goal just before half-time and that kept us in it,” Lowe said.

“It was a different story in the second half – there was much more impetus about us and we looked dangerous.

“We had made the changes and we did well to come back, but we should not have been in the position where we were two down.

“It was disappointing that we missed a number of chances, but we should have made their keeper work much more.”

Salford coach Neil Wood paid tribute to his players for holding their nerve in the shoot-out – which brought back painful memories for some of the League Two play-off semi-final defeat to Stockport last season.

“This is probably the best result for me since I’ve been here,” Wood said.

“We want to be right up there in League Two, but cup results like this do bring a nice bonus.

“It was nice for some of the guys who missed penalties in the play-offs to score tonight too.

“I was hoping some of them could go and take one, because it puts the demons of those semi-final misses to bed and raises their confidence again.”

Russell Martin criticised his Southampton players for “feeling sorry for themselves” and entering “self-preservation mode” after a shock 3-1 Carabao Cup defeat at Gillingham.

Last season’s semi-finalists were stunned in the opening round of this year’s competition as Robbie McKenzie’s double and Ashley Nadesan’s early strike propelled Neil Harris’ League Two side to a memorable triumph on home soil.

Martin made 11 changes to the team that beat Sheffield Wednesday in the Saints’ Championship opener on Friday night and was unhappy with his second-string side’s attitude after a dismal night at Priestfield.

“It definitely wasn’t the result I was expecting, but the performance was more surprising,” he said.

“Tonight I just saw too much stuff I didn’t like, things we haven’t worked on, with people trying to write their own script.

“Players entered self-preservation mode – they were doing stuff they wanted to do.

“It was a case of ‘as long as I’m doing my own thing I’m OK’, but it shouldn’t be like that.

“Some people had too much pity, too much feeling sorry for themselves, and they’re probably the ones who don’t see their futures here in the next three weeks.

“I understand that, it’s difficult to deal with, but they should have showed off what they can do on the pitch.”

Gillingham went ahead after just 12 minutes when summer signing Nadesan slid in to poke Ethan Coleman’s cross past Alex McCarthy.

McKenzie stabbed home from close range six minutes after the break to double the hosts’ advantage before then capitalising on more lacklustre Southampton defending to net his second.

Substitute Carlos Alcaraz curled home a fine consolation goal late on but that did little to improve an otherwise miserable night for the south coast side in Kent.

Gills boss Harris said: “It couldn’t have gone any better. It’s a great result, and the performance was excellent.

“If anything, the win should have been by more than two goals.

“Southampton are a top side, even with the changes – I wanted to play on the front foot.

“We dominated the first 15 minutes, during which we could have scored more than one, and ultimately for 75 minutes we bossed it.

“The cup competitions aren’t the priority, but that doesn’t mean we don’t want to win. We want to be competitive, we want 8,000 people to appreciate that, and we’ll do the same in the next round.”

Notts County manager Luke Williams has challenged his players to produce a response following the disappointment of crashing out of the Carabao Cup at home to Lincoln.

The Magpies were dumped out of with goals in either half from Sean Roughan and Lasse Sorensen and finished with 10 men following a red card for Aden Baldwin.

County’s return to league football had ended in a 5-1 thrashing at Sutton on Saturday, and Williams feels his side again let themselves down.

“It’s disappointing in reality because of the weekend,” Williams said.

“We are not expected to win against a team in the league above us, but with the backdrop of the weekend now feels terrible.

“We conceded again from a corner, pathetic again from a corner, and now it feels awful.”

County were reduced to 10-men in the 56th minute when Baldwin was sent off for a second caution – something which left Williams aggrieved once again.

“When you are on a yellow card, you have an awareness that you can’t do something silly – and I don’t think it’s like he is jumping on a grenade for a team,” Williams said.

“The ball is going to go through to the goalkeeper, but everyone can make a mistake and unfortunately you don’t have the luxury to make a mistake in the same way.”

Imps manager Mark Kennedy was impressed by his side’s performance and felt the League One side could have won by a more handsome margin.

“I thought we were excellent tonight. I am really pleased,” Kennedy said.

“Tactically we were excellent and did well with the counter press. They had 70% possession and we had 20 shots on goal.

“Football is about winning matches and I think we could have won by four or five tonight.”

Paul Simpson said his Carlisle players let themselves down during Tuesday night’s Carabao Cup first-round defeat at Harrogate.

Sam Folarin scored the only goal of the game from long range in the 23rd minute to leave the Sky Bet League One Cumbrians winless in eighth attempts against Simon Weaver’s Sulphurites.

And Simpson, who made no fewer than four substitutions at half-time, was far from impressed by what he witnessed in North Yorkshire.

“I’m really disappointed in what we have done tonight,” he said.

“I wanted to win this game, I wanted to be in the second round of the cup.

“In the first half, we lacked energy, which is why I decided to make changes at half-time, just to see if I could inject a bit of life into it.

“I thought that second half, the two centre-backs showed some enthusiasm to want to play, but unfortunately there were too many who were off it in the final third and that is where we have really let ourselves down.”

After Jack Armer, Luke Plange and Jon Mellish all squandered first-half chances to find the net for Carlisle, while Ryan Edmondson wasted an even better opportunity after 76 minutes when he failed to convert from the penalty spot.

Speaking about the miss, Simpson added: “I don’t like to criticise anyone for missing a penalty, but I thought that penalty summed up our lack of quality in the final third on the night.

“It was really, really poor from players who have better ability than they showed.”

By contrast, Harrogate boss Weaver was more than satisfied by his own team’s attacking play and is now hoping to draw one of the big boys in round two.

“We achieved everything that we wanted to get out of tonight, so I’m really pleased,” he reflected.

“The first half, we were on the front foot and there was some free-flowing football at times. It was fast-paced and we had that goal-threat as well, which is great to see.

“This is an exciting competition to be involved in and so I’m delighted to be in round two.

“Our first year in the Football League we drew Premier League West Brom and it was shown live on Sky Sports, so that was in the back of my mind before tonight’s game.

“It was such a special occasion and I’m hoping we can pull a big club out of the hat again.”