Boss Keeps Calm Amid Storm

Sir Alex Ferguson had a simple message for his men after the 2-1 Carling Cup semi-final first leg defeat at Manchester City: Forget the events of Eastlands, just win at Old Trafford.

Ryan Giggs' early opener was overturned by a controversial double from Blues striker Carlos Tevez, but the boss was far from perturbed ahead of next Wednesday's return in M16.

"I think we dominated the game, we just let it slip for two minutes in the first half," he told MUTV. "We had a mad two minutes where we lost a bit of our composure and they got in the game. The important thing is to win at Old Trafford. Forget the scoreline here, win your match and we have a great chance."

The Blues seemed devoid of inspiration before they were awarded a hotly-contested penalty for a tug by Rafael on Craig Bellamy. In the second half, the Brazilian was incorrectly adjudged to have conceded a corner. Tevez was on hand to profit from both decisions. Nevertheless, Sir Alex refused to criticise referee Mike Dean.

"It happens that way," he said. "Sometimes you get them for you, sometimes you don't. You just have to take it, bite the bullet and get on with it. They got a decision for them to get them back in the game, but after that you can lose a game anyway. Set-pieces are a part of the game today and you have to handle them well.

"Was it a corner kick? I don't know, I'd leave that to the experts, but we didn't defend it well. After that we dominated but couldn't get the ball to go in. There was some good football, I was pleased. The performance was good."