Garrido: We must lift ourselves

Published Jan. 28, 2010 4:10 a.m. ET

foxsports

Wayne Rooney's injury-time header dashed City dreams of a first cup final appearance at Wembley since 1981. It was cruel luck for the Blues, and especially Carlos Tevez, who scored all of his side's three goals in the tie and still ended up on the losing side against his former club. Garrido admitted the manner of defeat was sickening. But with crisis club Portsmouth visiting Eastlands on Sunday and City still only three points off a Champions League place with two games in hand, the Spanish defender feels his team-mates need to keep their heads up. "What happened is sad but we must lift ourselves," he told the club's website. "The Portsmouth game is very important because we must keep working to finish in the top four. "Also, we are still in the FA Cup, so we must do our best to get to the final of that." Manager Roberto Mancini claimed his side controlled the contest apart from a mad "10 minutes" in the second half. That verdict rather overlooked the fact the hosts dominated after the interval, although Garrido did feel that, after fighting their way back into the contest through Tevez's goal, City deserved more than to suffer yet another heart-breaking defeat at the home of their neighbours. "It is not easy to take because we were nearly in the final," he said. "We showed we are a quality team and we deserved extra time. "But you must concentrate, especially against a team like Manchester United who can score at any time."