Carlisle United manager Mark Hughes was full of praise for his side after they registered a second successive win to move off the bottom of League Two. Hughes spoke to the club’s official website.
The Cumbrians left Morecambe, the side they have leapfrogged, with all three points thanks to goals from Georgie Kelly and Terell Thomas.
Hughes Delighted With Important Win
Defeat would have left United nine points adrift of Accrington Stanley with only 12 left to play for and the significance of the result was not lost on the former Welsh international.
“It was really important for us today, obviously, to continue where we left off last weekend and that’s what we did. I thought we were excellent from start to finish. Thankfully, we got into the lead and then just managed the game out to a conclusion.”
“I thought we were good value today and given the significance of the game, I just felt the lads approached it in a great manner, understood what was required to get the job done today and I think it’s back-to-back wins for the first time in a couple of years.”
“We put on a performance that we needed today, but we weren’t going to be denied. We felt all week after the performance and the way we turned things around last weekend, we sensed this week was going to be more of the same and that’s what happened.”
Manager Delighted With Solid Base
Although reluctant to single out individuals, the Carlisle boss did agree with the assessment that the central defensive pairing of Aaron Hayden and Terrell Thomas, along with keeper Gabe Breeze, had an impressive afternoon.
“You’re right to mention the two centre halves, I thought they were excellent.”
“They stood up to the challenge, Aaron Hayden has been great since he’s come back into the team and uses his experience, I thought. Terell, arguably that was one of his best games for quite some time, so I’m pleased for him as well.”
“Even if they gave a glimmer of an opportunity to the opposition, we still had Gabe [Breeze] that they had to beat, which was going to be highly unlikely as well. On the back of that, very, very good performance today.”
Looking Ahead
“We’ve got some huge games ahead of us, we know that, but we just sense that, at the moment, we’re in the best possible place to go up against teams in this league and we’ve just got to continue in the same vein. If we do that, then who knows what might happen.”
Writer’s View
Without a doubt, this is a vital victory for Carlisle. They face an in-form Port Vale on Good Friday that will be a tough test but a result in that game will have Accrington sweating before the pair face off on Easter Monday.
