Carlisle boss Paul Simpson refused to be downhearted despite seeing his side slip out of the League Two automatic promotion after being held to a 0-0 draw at 10-man Walsall.
The Cumbrians failed to score for a fourth away game running despite playing the final half hour with a man advantage following Hayden White’s dismissal for a studs-up challenge on Jack Armer.
They slipped to fourth as a result and face a pivotal week with home games against second-placed Northampton and third-placed Stockport.
Carlisle could have pinched all three points in stoppage time but Owen Moxon headed straight at Walsall keeper Owen Evans before Ben Barclay nodded an equally good chance wide.
“I think it was a really strong battling performance that just lacked that final bit of quality to go and get ourselves a goal,” said Simpson.
“But that could be a really important point – if we can and go and do it properly against Northampton and Stockport.
“In all fairness they were always going to be huge games and they are now even bigger.
“It’s really, really tight and we knew that coming into today’s game – but after 41 games we are in an OK position and we need to make sure we keep going a little bit more.”
Simpson was frustrated by referee Declan Bourne’s failure to award Carlisle a first-half spot-kick for Tom Knowles’ challenge on Armer.
“It is a definite penalty – obviously I’ve got the benefit of seeing the video but even when I saw it first-hand live I don’t understand what the referee has seen.
“He tells me at half-time there is no contact, no pull. It’s incredible.”
Walsall boss Michael Flynn was similarly unimpressed with Bourne’s decision to dismiss White as his mid-table side registered a seventh draw in their last nine home games.
“I thought up until the red card we were the better team, a lot more energy about us but we couldn’t quite get that little bit of luck in the box,” said Flynn.
“I thought the standard of the referee today was very poor. He couldn’t wait to get the red card out, it was out immediately.
“We get told in the meetings when we speak to the head of refs, they’ve been told to take some time and compose themselves but the red card was out before the whistle stopped blowing.
“It’s got to be excessive force – Hayden has just gone to block the ball. There’s no intent, a couple of their players couldn’t even believe it on the touchline.
“When we have bad days we get told – I’m not quite sure they [officials] do.
“But we more than matched a team who were in the top three before today and there are positive signs going forward.”
