Rob Kelly admitted he felt disappointed that his side did not hang on for victory over Carlisle United after seeing his side come from behind to lead until late on at The Progression Solicitors Stadium.
An enthralling derby encounter saw the visitors snatch an early lead through Jack Armer’s powerful header, but The Bluebirds were level when Scott Quigley drilled home and then went in front as Patrick Brough netted against his former club.
It looked as though Kelly’s men were going to go on and clinch all three points until a penalty award twelve minutes from time handed The Cumbrians a lifeline and Offrande Zanzale duly scored from the spot.
“I think we’ve left two points out there,” Kelly told iFollow.
“They’ve scored early on from a set-piece, which is something we hard on and we’re normally very good at defending.
“It took about 15 minutes for the lads to get their senses back really but, once we got a foothold in the game, I thought we played really well and showed that character and resilience again.
“We scored two good goals and I thought we looked threatening in the second half and could have nicked another one, but we just didn’t get that final pass right.
“They went for it a bit, put four up front and put it on top of us a bit but I still have that disappointment we didn’t get three points having been 2-1 up with ten minutes to go.
“It definitely felt like a derby and it had an edge in the right kind of way, but it would have been fantastic if there had been a crowd in today because football is about supporters and players.
“We have to keep doing everything we can to make sure we have more games in the EFL like these on home soil so the fans can come and enjoy them because they’ve waited long enough for it.
“Both sides were definitely going for the win, but we’ll shake hands on a draw. It’s another point on the board and it keeps the scoreboard ticking over so we have to move on quickly now, and we will.”