United boss Keith Curle was quick to praise the fans for the support they gave their team in a game which ebbed and flowed at Brunton Park on Tuesday night.
“You can tell by the level of support we got that it’s ready to erupt here,” he said. “Brunton Park is ready to bubble again.
“The fans who were there have seen a very committed team play with quality and patience. Let’s not shy away from the fact that we were looking for three points and we thought that’s what we’d get.
“The supporters stayed and clapped their players off and that shows us that they appreciated the work and effort. We’ve had a bit of a slow start, and we’re accountable and responsible for that, and we know the home results haven’t been good enough.
“Things haven’t been going our way but there’s a turning point in every season when things start clicking. My job is to make sure confidence isn’t dented because of the late equaliser. We’ve already spoken to the players about the tempo and flow we had in our passing and movement and they know they played well.
“It’ll be the same on Saturday when we come up against another team that’s riding high. They won’t want to come to Carlisle after the result they suffered at Crewe, because they know they’ll face a team which is giving absolutely everything at the moment.”
Tuesday night also saw defender Tom Miller step in as a stand-in left back as Danny Grainger served a one-match suspension following the award of his fifth yellow card at Colchester on Saturday.
“I thought Tom did very well,” he commented. “He slotted in superbly and the cross he put over with his left foot in the first minute was worthy of somebody being on the end of it.
“He carried out his defensive duties very well and he’s been chomping at the bit to be involved. He lasted the 90 minutes, despite having missed out recently, and his mental approach was excellent.
“What it’s shown us is that there’s competition for the shirt within what is a small squad. The players look after themselves really well and they’re taking what they do in training onto the pitch.”
And on the absence of Kelvin Etuhu, he told us: “It was touch and go whether or not to involve him, but I don’t ask players to do me favours.
“He was desperate to be involved but sometimes I have to make decisions based not only on the player but also on the team.”
Click HERE to watch an interview with Keith Curle on iFollow United now.