‘It is a sore one for us to take’ - Reaction from Boston United's late defeat to Carlisle United

The Pilgrims went toe-to-toe with the promotion-chasers and despite falling behind to Harvey Macadam in the 54th minute, equalised two minutes later through Lenell John-Lewis.

The home side were good value for at least a point - but Macadam stroked home his second of the game in the 90th minute to leave the Pilgrims wondering what could have been.

“It's a sore one to lose after an overall performance like that against a team like Carlisle," said Bullen.

“It’s sore for us, the coaching staff, the players and the fans. The fans saw the players give them everything.

“There are positives to take, but ultimately it is about the result and we came away empty handed.

“We created plenty of opportunities in and around their box without testing the keeper in the first half. The first half performance was exceptional.

“We expected a response from them in the second half and they came out all guns blazing and gave us a tough time.

“We matched them for large parts, but unfortunately we didn't take the chances we had in and around the box

“They had three big chances and they took two of them, it shows the quality they have.”

Bullen now wants to see Boston deliver that level of performance against the ‘lesser’ teams in the league and start to rack up some points.

“We are not a staff that wants to be happy with performances alone,” he said. “We have to take that level of performance and demand that week in week out.

“Expectation levels would have been on a Carlisle win from the neutrals watching. The pressure wasn't really on ourselves.

“We have done well against teams at the top and been competitive, but being competitive doesn't keep you in the league and we need to turn performances into results.”