Mark Hughes was pleased with Carlisle’s resilience as his side came from behind twice to draw 2-2 against MK Dons at Brunton Park.
Joe Tomlinson opened the scoring for the visitors with just six minutes on the clock, but Matty Dennis netted against his former side to draw the hosts level.
MK Dons took the initiative again through Alex Gilbey, only for Kadeem Harris’ excellent strike to secure United a draw, which moved them six points behind third-bottom Tranmere.
Hughes said: “I felt we showed great character tonight to come from behind twice after conceding two not so great goals for us.
“They didn’t have to work too hard for them, they could have been avoided, but the response was excellent.
“First half I thought we dusted ourselves down and just went for it, the second half was more of the same. We had a spell where we lost a bit of energy so we got some fresh lads on and turned it round a bit and towards the end we could have won it.”
Hughes took on the Carlisle job in February and the team have become harder to beat under his stewardship, with just four of the Blues’ 21 losses coming under his guidance.
He added: “I think the team wouldn’t have had the ability to come back a few months ago, but they’re a different group now with belief, that’s what they were lacking, confidence to do what we talk about and we had a game plan, which for the most part I thought was really solid.”
MK Dons interim boss Ben Gladwin was pleased with the improvements that his side displayed.
Gladwin has been overseeing the side since Scott Lindsey was sacked at the start of the month and the Dons, who are 17th in the table, were in charge for parts of the game.
He said: “It was an eventful one, I thought we were exceptional to be honest for the first 20, 25 minutes. We were in complete control of the game.
“I don’t know what swung the momentum, I’ll have to watch the game back to understand it. I think their first goal was preventable, but listen, the boys were brilliant on the whole, I’m really proud again and I think it’s another step in the right direction.”
Prior to Lindsey’s departure, MK Dons had lost 11 of 16 matches, but now they have suffered defeat in just one of their last four.
Gladwin added: “They’re fighting, this is a really tough place to come and the boys stood up to the test again.
“We knew that if we tried to manage the energy of the place and the state of the game, they would feel that a lot and they would ask for the team to press and we could potentially play through that.
“I think the first goal was an incredible example of that, the courage it takes to do that at a place like this is incredible.”
