Kevin Keen admitted his disappointment after West Brom let their 1-0 lead slip in the dying stages of the FA Cup third round tie with QPR.
West Brom dominated the Loftus Road encounter that ended in a 1-1 stalemate, and although delighted to be in the fourth round draw, Keen admits he was disappointed after Shane Long's 79th-minute strike was equalised by Kieron Dyer in the final seconds.
The two sides will now battle it out again - the fourth meeting between the two clubs this term - in 11 days' time.
Assistant coach Keen said: "We're a little bit disappointed, we felt we did well in the game, we played well, especially in the second half, created chances.
"We felt the game was going to peter out but we slipped up at the end.
"But these things happen in football and, along with QPR, we're in the draw for the next round.
"We're going to take them back to The Hawthorns and have a real go at them there. What happened in the last 30 seconds can happen in any game.
"Today it happened and an old friend of mine, Kieron Dyer, who I spent many years with at West Ham, popped up with a goal.
"We're a fraction disappointed but we've come and performed and the squad has done well considering we've picked up a couple of injuries.
"We've got a lot of positives to take from today."
Keen revealed that Zoltan Gera faces a scan after being forced off midway through the first half with a knee injury.
"Zolly had a problem with his knee," Keen added. "He'll have it scanned tomorrow and we'll go from there. We've got our fingers crossed that it's not too bad."
The U's were the better side for long periods of the game at the Keepmoat Stadium but came away empty-handed after David Cotterill scored a stunning match-winner six minutes from time.
The winger capped a mazy run with a curling shot into the roof of the net for his 10th goal of the season - a strike that Saunders believes will now not see his side relegated.
"We've got 50 points now and that means we should be safe and not get relegated," said the Welshman.
"I think the last game against Sheffield United, when they pinched a point after we had been two goals up, took its toll on the players physically and emotionally because we couldn't seem to get going at all.
"But when we don't get it together we have the ability to keep a clean sheet and not give anything away.
"I've got a team that's full of character that knows how to win without playing brilliantly but the goal we scored was worthy of winning any game.
"It was a brilliant finish and the only dilemma I have is whether to play David Cotterill on the left or the right."
Saunders added: "We introduced a couple of new players. Emile Sinclair made his debut and he is only going to get better because he hadn't even trained with us and only met the players a few hours before the game.
"Lee Fowler made his mark after coming on as substitute. He's gone wrong in the past but he's got a Premier League brain - he's a class player and he's settled down now."
After beating Tranmere and Portsmouth 5-0 in the previous two home matches, Di Canio even joked that his side had let him down by managing only four this time round.
But the flamboyant Italian is impressed by the way his players are full of goals and confidence after Carlisle were despatched with embarrassing ease.
"To score 14 goals in three matches is fantastic and shows the way we are going. Even a top team in the world like Barcelona would expect to concede one," said the Town boss.
"I am happy because we got four goals against a team who could have been a bit of a banana skin for us. We did not slip up or look like letting in a goal.
"My players were pushing to score goals until the last minute from the first and Carlisle did not have one chance. Not one of my players upset me, every one of them did a fantastic job.
"All the goals came from the movement we attempt in our training sessions - three of our goals were beautiful.
"But I will know when our team has grown up and that is when we win five or six matches 1-0."
James Collins, scorer of four goal against Portsmouth, netted in between Andy Williams' double before substitute Raffaele De Vita completed another Robins rout.
