Cardiff City boss Steve Morison says he's keen to focus on the positives from his side's FA Cup fourth round defeat by Liverpool at Anfield, but insists his side should have had a first-half penalty.
Liverpool were worthy winners courtesy of goals from Diogo Jota, Tanuki Minamino and Harvey Elliott, although Rubin Colwill did come off the bench to secure a late consolation.
But despite Cardiff clearly being second best, there was still a bit of room for pondering what might have been.
Indeed, referee Andrew Madeley made two contentious calls that both went against the Bluebirds.
Mark Harris was surely unlucky not to win a spot kick for his team in the first half after seemingly receiving a nudge from Ibrahima Konate, with the Wales international then scythed down by goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher.
Kelleher was perhaps lucky to avoid a red card for the foul, which was examined by VAR before Madeley opted for a yellow card.
But Morison said he was more focused on the efforts of Harris to try and round the keeper, rather than the foul itself, adding that he thought the right call was made.
“I don’t think it was a sending-off," he said. "There were too many players around. Konate was there. From my point of view, I was more frustrated Mark Harris didn’t take the ball round the goalie and go and run it into the goal. I thought that option was on.
"It could have changed the complexion (of the match)."
However, Morison, while remaining diplomatic, suggested his side should have had a penalty before the break.
“I think the penalty incident in the first half, if that’s outside the box it’s a free-kick so I don’t know why that should change in the box. It is what it is," he added.
"We’ve come through it unscathed, we’ve had another three debuts, we’ve had two excellent performances from debutants and we’re in a much better place now than when we started the game."
A couple of those positives, according to the City boss, were the full debuts of 19-year-old pair Oliver Denham and Eli King, who were both handed their first starts in senior football at Anfield.
It proved a tricky assignment for the pair, but Morison was pleased with what he saw, instead ruing the nature of Liverpool's three goals, which he believes were all preventable.
“I thought Oliver Denham was excellent," he continued. "It was his first ever start and I thought he was fantastic. You don’t get bigger challenges than playing Liverpool at Anfield. I thought Eli King was excellent.
"I thought our intensity, our work, our shape in the first half and when we did take a touch and find a pass we were good. Loads of positives – attitude, application, the whole shebang really.
"The big frustration was the three goals. You don’t mind if Trent Alexander-Arnold puts the ball in the top corner from a free-kick or you get ripped apart but that didn’t really happen.
"We gave them goals. We can’t allow someone to have a free header in the middle of the goal.”
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