Carlisle boss Mike Williamson admitted the dramatic 3-2 defeat at Crewe was “really tough to stomach” after conceding twice in stoppage time at Gresty Road.
Kadeem Harris’ strike appeared to have handed the visitors victory but Omar Bogle’s header levelled matters in the third minute of time added on before Jack Lankester snatched all three points five minutes later.
Jack Ellis had netted his first senior goal as Carlisle edged ahead in the first half only for Chris Long to level for the Railwaymen soon after.
Williamson said: “I thought we were going to see it out but we got punished in stoppage time and the stuffing was knocked out of us.
“Up to the 90-minute mark I was confident we were going to take the three points but if you switch off for a minute you can get punished against teams like Crewe.
“In the first half we were the better side, although we lost of bit of control in the second half and the pressure we had to withstand later in the game was too much.
“Crewe have got strength in depth off the bench. It was really tough to stomach but we have got to dust ourselves down as we have four games now in 10 days.”
Alex boss Lee Bell’s decision to change his front two, putting on Lankester and Bogle, proved decisive.
He said: “We showed great character to create those opportunities at the end.
“Carlisle were good and played some good stuff but it was a really good win for the fans who stayed around after moaning a little bit when we were 2-1 down on a pitch that it’s impossible to play football on – I’m glad they enjoyed the end to that game.
“From a neutral point of view, it was a good game of football with chances and mistakes at either end.
“It was one of those types of wins that has been on the horizon for a bit in that I thought we would score a last-minute winner.
“I always believe in the quality of the players we’ve got and we showed that in two key moments when we were 2-1 down with the goalscorers getting into good positions.
“Chris Long was making his first league start and he showed moments of real class and scored his goal and the substitutes offered us something different.”
