DESPITE going “toe-to-toe” with one of the high-flying teams in the competition, senior coach Brendon Bolton said Carlton was hurting post-match.

The youngest Blues team of the season took the contest to the Pies, but after leading with three minutes to go found themselves overrun in the dying stages.

While there were clear positives to take from the clash, a raw Bolton said his press conference immediately post-match wasn’t the time or place to harp on it.

“Is the timing right to talk about positivity? We’ve just lost, we’re annoyed with it,” Bolton said.

“There’s heaps going right but there are moments, like the second half of the last quarters, which is telling me to not answer the positivity right now.”

Saying he was feeling the disappointment and frustration of Carlton’s 60,000 members, Bolton’s side had the Bluebaggers at the MCG rocking with anticipation in the closing stages.

With 10 players in the side aged under 22, Bolton said the playing group didn’t need too much direction in the rooms following the game.

“Right now, they’re all pretty emotive,” he said.

“They’ve given their heart and soul for three quarters and 20 minutes before falling away late. They’re understanding of that, we’ll look at what those exact goals against were.

“I’m feeling the emotion of our supporters. There’s an element after the game where we really hurt.”

On the way out of the MCG, Carlton supporters would’ve been pleased with the passion on display, as well as the showings of Matthew Kreuzer, Caleb Marchbank and Liam Stocker among others.

Bolton said if the playing group continued to bring the application which they displayed in game No.257 against Collingwood, things would turn by way of results.

“Three minutes to go, we’re a point up. This is how tight it is,” he said.

“We’ve had other games that haven’t gone our way this year to date, it doesn’t mean it won’t.

“You’ve got to live it and learn it and we’re learning the hard way. The close games haven’t gone our way at the moment.”