We spoke to midfielder Jamie Devitt shortly after full time on Saturday to get his thoughts on his goal and on the draw with Northampton.
“I thought we were very good today, so we're disappointed to not come away with the three points,” he said. “We kept the ball well at times, but it does feel like we’re still a new team because we’ve got new faces in and new staff, so we’re still learning about how the manager wants us to play.
“It was important to get that response after the Exeter game. Even after we went 2-1 down, the response was very good. We didn’t panic and just lump it long, we took an extra pass when we needed it, and that’s where the goal came from.
"There were a lot of positives, so we need to build on that and go down to Cheltenham next week and get a win. We can’t think that one performance means we’ve cracked it.
"There’s work still to be done and we need a win soon, because we don’t want to be down in the bottom half of the table. There are definitely positive signs there and I think we’ll slowly creep up the table.
“Like I say, the lads are disappointed we haven’t won, which is a really good thing, because Northampton are a very good team. They’ve just come down and I think they’ll be right up there at the end of the season. I think we’ll take a lot of confidence out of the game."
A stunning goal - easily a contender for goal of the season - was preceded by a sighter which possibly didn't quite go to plan.
“The shot I had just before the goal really frustrated me," he admitted. "My first touch meant the ball didn’t come down and my shot went wide. I was annoyed at myself for about five minutes after that.
“For my goal, I thought my technique wasn’t right, but it went in, which is the main thing. When Parkesy [Tom Parkes] had the ball I looked around and there was no one near me. I didn’t want to shout, because someone would have come across and marked me, but Parkesy knew I wanted the ball.
"It was a great pass in to me - he really fired it in, which is what I needed. If it was a slower pass I would have had to take a couple of touches. My first touch set it up nicely and it was good to see it go in the back of the net.
“I can’t even remember the shot, really, because I think as soon as I hit it I turned away to celebrate. It will be nice to have a look back at it because I don’t think I’ve scored many better than that."
“We are frustrated we didn’t get the three points," he continued. "When Jonesy [Mike Jones] went off it knocked us a little bit, because we were having a lot of joy before that. We had to settle into the game again and I thought Regan [Slater] was excellent when he came on.
"He loves to drive forward with it and once we got the three of us on the ball again it felt like we kicked on."
Having missed out on a starting plac the previous week, he said: “I was obviously disappointed not to start against Exeter, but I just got my head down in training and worked hard.
"I know it caused rumours about the stuff with Swindon but, with that, you can't do anything about what people say. All I wanted was to know that Carlisle United wanted me, and that's been the case, which I'm more than happy with.
"You don’t know what the team will be next week, so I’ve just got to keep doing the work. The gaffer gave me a bit of a free role, which is my favourite role, so I enjoyed it. But it doesn't change the fact that the three points would have been a lot better."
Noticeable at the weekend was the number of times he took charge of set pieces, both out wide and in deeper positions.
“Once I get some confidence I want to be on all of the set pieces and I enjoy that side of the game," he told us. "When you're more confident they tend to hit the areas you want them to go and the strikers are able to work off that.
"We’re all just looking forward to the game on Tuesday now because that will be a good test."
On the excellent atmosphere, which saw United's fans make an incredible amount of noise throughout the game, he said: “The fans were brilliant and it’s been a while since we’ve heard that at home.
"I think they all went home really positive and hopefully we’ll see an extra few bodies on Tuesday night. I’m sure we’ll have a good following down at Cheltenham next weekend, as we always do as well."
Next up for the Blues is the visit of Blackburn Rovers on Tuesday night.
“It will be good to test ourselves against a Championship side because that’s what league we all want to be playing in, if not higher," he told us. "We always seem to do well against those sorts of teams, so it’s one for us all to look forward to.
“There’s no extra time in the Carabao Cup now so it’s one of those competitions which can get really exciting really quickly. If it goes to penalties anything can happen.
"I’m quite pleased there’s no extra time on Tuesday because Saturday was my first 90 minutes, but I’m just looking forward to it and I’m sure I’ll get sharper and sharper as the games go on.”
Click HERE to watch an interview with Jamie Devitt on iFollow United now.
Click HERE to see a clip from this interview on our YouTube channel. Follow the same link for more FREE content right from the heart of the club.
