Bit of luck tonight’

That misfortune could be seen in the warm-up as Rhys Gorman limped away and left the Carlisle Grounds on crutches.

And refereeing decisions have also gone against his side with three bookings for simulation in the last two fixtures and some of those yellow cards were contentious.

“We keep picking up injuries we’ve lost Rhys Gorman tonight. We’re really, really tight at the moment.

“Take a look at the bench and Ger Pender is the oldest player and he’s 23. We just have to keep fighting and keep going.

“If you look back at the bookings (from Friday), they’re harsh. I haven’t seen Soccer Republic’s video but Cory Galvin’s was a push in the back - it’s blatant. The bookings were harsh and it’s tough to take.”

Monday’s 2-2 draw with Waterford saw the gap on Waterford reduced to five points and Kelly is confident that his side can continue to chip away at that gap - starting with a trip to Cork City that won’t daunt his squad.

“A few weeks ago it was nine points so we’ve already clawed back four points.

“We’ve never thought it was over. We’ll just keep plugging away. You can see the work-rate and the attitude of the lads - it’s phenomenal. That’s all I can ask of them.

“We’ll approach the game in the same manner. We’ll go there and try to play football. We’ll play when we have it and when we don’t have it, we’ll got to work really, really hard to get the ball back.”