Rusk: A lot to hold on to there
Interim manager Simon Rusk gave credit to the squad for a spirited second half display, as Southampton exited the Carabao Cup after a narrow 2-1 defeat against Liverpool.
After a whirlwind week for the Under-21s boss, he oversaw a quarter-final clash that was a tale of two halves for Saints.
First half goals from Darwin Núñez and Harvey Elliott set up an uphill battle in the elements at St Mary's, but a brave fightback and impressive Cameron Archer goal halved the deficit.
Saints felt hard done by in the closing stages when Jarell Quansah appeared to have brought down Mateus Fernandes as the last man through on goal, but a late equaliser never materialised.
"I think maybe on the second half display we feel a little bit hard done by," assessed Rusk, "I've not seen [the decision] back yet but it looked like it was certainly one to think about in terms of a free-kick in and around the box at the end, being the last man, but yeah credit to the lads.
On the overall contest, Rusk gave a measured take on how the tie played out.
"I thought we were unlucky with the moment of the first goal, and I think maybe if we can get to 30 minutes and it's 0-0 [it would be different].
"I knew the boys were going to be a little bit tentative in their moments, that's natural given the game the other day, but I think credit to them, they stayed in the game, grew into it and in the end we looked like we could go on to get the second.
"I think there's a lot to hold on to there overall, and hopefully the boys can use that as a platform for confidence moving into the next game."
Rusk also shared a word of thanks as he took a moment to summarise the events of the past few days from a personal perspective.
"I'm full of gratitude for all of the support I've had from the staff and the players, I said that to them there.
"I don't take that for granted, they're professionals, I understand it's not easy and it's a quick turnaround with such a tough game but yeah, I think the players gave it their all and that's all you can ever ask really.
"I think we have to be positive and we have to keep the belief, keep moving forward and hopefully that'll help the lads try and win the next game."
