'We can't blame the ref for our defeat': Crawley Town forward Dominic Poleon
Former Leeds man Poleon gave Reds an early lead after a promising start, but the visitors turned the game on its head to lead 2-1 — with many fans left fuming by the officials' decision to keep the flag down for the first and to award a penalty for the second.
However, Poleon said if Crawley took their own chances, they wouldn't have to worry about the decisions made at the other end.
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Hide AdHe said: "We're footballers, we can't complain about the ref and those other little things. If we stick our chances away, we don't care about the penalty and don't complain about a handball and all those other things that contribute to 'why Crawley didn't win'.
"We look at ourselves. We need to create and score our chances, so we don't worry about the other isms and schisms. If we played like we did first half, in the second half, it could have been different."
Poleon's second goal of the game brought the hosts level before half time, but some poor marking allowed Jack Sowerby to restore Carlisle's lead shortly after the interval.
Poleon was pleased with his brace, which took his tally for the season to three goals, but admitted that he would have preferred to have won the game without scoring.
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Hide AdHe added: "Strikers have got to take their chances and today I did. I'm delighted on that aspect but gutted that we've not come away with the three points.
"It's bitter sweet. Scoring is good but winning is better. If you can contribute to the win in another way other than getting a goal yourself, that's looking at the bigger picture. They do say strikers are selfish and say it's all about goals, goals, goals, but you want your team to win.
"If you can contribute to that with goals, it's a bonus. For me, we need to get some wins on the board. If I score, I score, but you've got to put the team first."