Head Coach Rob Elliot was pleased with Carlisle United's 3-0 victory over Derby County under-21s as the Blues rounded off their pre-season programme, believing the performance showed encouraging progress ahead of the new Enterprise National League campaign.
With several Academy players involved and minutes needing to be carefully managed, Elliot was satisfied with the workout his side got before stepping up a level after the break.
He said: "It was good. It's obviously difficult in the first-half because you had to get the balance right between getting players minutes.
"We had four or five Academy lads out there, if not more, and we had to play Jack [Ellis] out of position, but he did brilliantly.
"Derby were excellent. It was a good test for us."
United took control in the second-half, with Elliot pleased by both the intensity of his side's pressing and the attacking patterns on show.
"Once we got stronger and the lads who'd trained more got into the concepts, we started to dominate.
"The only criticism is that we didn't score six or seven. The press was good, the attitude was good and we're getting fitter, stronger and getting more lads back, which is pleasing."
Elliot explained that rotation was essential after a disrupted pre-season schedule, with several players still working their way back to full fitness.
"We were a game down because of the Fleetwood game being called off, so we had to manage minutes with a lot of players who haven't played.
"Stephen [Wearne], Josh [Williams] and Hayden [Atkinson] have all had disrupted pre-seasons and Jack Ellis had a minor hamstring issue, so we couldn't take any risks."
The Head Coach also praised Derby for providing the competitive test United needed ahead of the season opener.
"It was feisty, but that's what you want.
"The lads need to know they've got to protect themselves and be ready for a challenge. Derby are a fantastic club with a great academy and I knew it would be a proper test. At times, it almost felt like a league game."
Several Academy players featured throughout the evening, with goalkeeper Brad Robinson making his first team bow after a difficult personal week.
"He deserved that moment.
"He's had a really tough week personally, but he's trained fantastically well. I know it was only five minutes, but he deserved the opportunity.
"I don't think the kid knows how good he is."
Elliot also highlighted the strength of Carlisle's young goalkeepers.
"We're very fortunate with the goalkeeping talent we've got here.
"It was great to see Brad, Amaru and the other young lads get their minutes and continue their progression with the first team."
Regan Linney continued his impressive pre-season with another goal, and Elliot believes there is even more to come from the forward.
"The challenge for Regan is don't rely on confidence, rely on your ability and keep doing the right things.
"We challenged him on his out-of-possession work this year and I think his goal comes from that.
"We know what a top player he is at this level and we want him high up the pitch, being aggressive with and without the ball."
Elliot also believes Linney's freedom to drift inside makes him difficult for defenders to contain.
"He's hard to pick up because he can rotate and roam.
"He's a fiery lad, but we don't want to take that unpredictability away because that's what makes him such a dangerous player."
Although Linney is still building towards full sharpness, Elliot feels his best is yet to come.
"In pre-season it looks like he's going to score every time he gets the ball.
"He's probably not even at full fitness yet. When he gets there, he's going to be a real serious problem."
With the National League campaign now just days away, Elliot is pleased with the progress made throughout pre-season but knows the real work starts next weekend.
"I'm really pleased. We've controlled everything we can control.
"The lads have been superb and they've taken on the ideas really well. It's a really good group that cares about this club and works hard for each other.
"We're not the finished article, but if we stick to the core principles we've been working on, we can build from there."
