Carlton Captain Marc Murphy has described Saturday's loss to Essendon as "deeply disappointing". 

Murphy says while his team was competitive, their efforts in front of goal let them down.

"It's a very tough pill to swallow," Murphy said. "We probably outplayed them for most of the night, but let ourselves down in front of goal.

"The whole Club is hurting. We were there to win and we didn't do it  - we've just got to learn from it and make sure that it doesn't happen again."

The Blues were without key players including Matthew Kreuzer and Andrew Walker, who were late withdrawals. 

Murphy says the loss of Brock McLean to a quad injury in the first quarter added extra pressure. 

"Brock has probably been our best player over the last month, and probably all year. That hurt earlier in the game losing Brock, so hopefully it (his injury) is not too bad."

The Blues travel to Adelaide for a clash with Port Adelaide to finish off the home and away season. 

Murphy says the key for his team now is to regroup and refocus. 

"We're going to have to try and be as positive as we can through the week, and make sure that we back-up and get right to play Port Adelaide."