His two goals could, and perhaps should, have earned Carlisle a much-needed home win. But Reggie Lambe feels the 3-3 draw with Wycombe Wanderers could act as a platform from which United can improve their recent form at Brunton Park.

Despite the Bermudan's brace, scoring the Blues' first and last goal on the night in between Jamie Devitt's first-half penalty, Keith Curle's side still had to settle for just a point after sub Paris Cowan-Hall's late equaliser earned the visitors a share of the spoils from the six-goal thriller.

United have not won at Brunton Park since their 3-0 victory over Cheltenham on August 19.

They looked set to regain that winning feeling at their own ground on Tuesday, largely thanks Lambe, before the Chairboys earned a point late on to send their 126 away supporters home happy.

But Lambe was keen to point that Carlisle's point was at least a step in the right direction after three straight losses - to Exeter, Leicester's Under-21s and Stevenage - in their most recent home outings.

"We were quite happy to not get defeated here because we haven't won at home for a while," he says.

"So, to get the draw, it means we are heading in the right direction.

"Hopefully, we can build on that and get a win on Saturday [against Notts County]. It's another massive, massive game."

And the 26-year-old insists he feels the Blues are closing in on a return to their best form.

He says: "I thought we had won it but they scored a late goal in the first half and a late goal in the second half, and that was kind of our downfall.

"We have not stopped conceding goals, and I think we will start winning games if we can do that."

Manager Curle agreed with Lambe that it was the Cumbrians' defensive fragilities which had cost them all three points. He said: "If you are scoring three goals at home, you are thinking you will get a win."

"We are a bit gutted to not come away with a win, but the spirits are still high," Lambe adds when asked the mood in the United camp. "We now go into Saturday, knowing that we are back to our best basically and we just need to stop the other team from scoring."

The winger helped Carlisle to get off to a flying start on Tuesday night. A Nicky Adams corner picked out Lambe in space at the back post and he headed past Wycombe keeper Scott Brown to break the deadlock with four minutes on the clock.

On his opener, he says: "It was good to get that goal. We had worked on that set-piece.

"It was good to get my head on the ball. It came to me perfectly. I knew I would be unmarked because we had watched a video of them and we had worked on it in training. I knew I would be free, so I just knew I had to hit the target.

"It's my second one [headed goal] of the season. I was trying to get Devs [Devitt] to give me the penalty because then I would have only had one more goal to go to get my hat-trick. I was a little sad not to get it but I was happy for Devs to get the goal - he has two in two now.

"I had gone a few games without a goal. I had gone out of the team for a few games, as well. So, to be back in the team and to score, it has made me very happy."

Lambe's opener set the tone for United's impressive first-half display as Devitt then doubled Curle's team's advantage from the penalty spot after referee Scott Duncan adjudged Daniel Scarr to have fouled Shaun Miller, only for Sam Saunders to pull a goal back for Wycombe on the stroke of half-time with a free-kick.

That changed the complexion of the game and, when Adebayo Akinfenwa - nicknamed "The Beast" - rose highest at the back post to nod home in the 72nd minute, the Blues' early lead had been wiped out.

But Lambe then restored the Carlisle lead to the delight of the majority of the 3,562-strong crowd inside Brunton Park. Sub Hallam Hope ignored a run by fellow sub Steven Rigg, who was making his first appearance for the Blues since his return to the club, and instead found Mike Jones. The former Oldham man played through the Bermudan who kept his nerve to find the bottom corner.

On his second goal, which looked like it would win it for United, Lambe adds: "I wasn't really nervous when it came to me.

"Once the ball was played in, I just knew I had to find the far corner. The keeper got a hand to it, but it still found the far corner.

"The fans were brilliant. They haven't always been - sometimes they do get on our backs. But that's understandable because of some of the results they've seen when we've been at home this season.

"Hopefully, they are behind us now and we can take that on to Saturday."

The drama was not over, though, and as Chairboys keeper Scott Brown came up for a corner, former Plymouth Argyle man Cowan-Hall nodded past Jack Bonham to preserve Wycombe's away record that now stems back to February.

"It was a massive, massive blow because, when we saw five minutes come up, we sort of thought 'It's just another five minutes we have to get through'," Lambe says. "We had done fairly well but for them to score in the last minute was heart-breaking."

That result leaves Carlisle in 15th, six points off Stevenage who are in the final play-off place.

Gareth Ainsworth's Wycombe are fourth in the league table and, next up for the Blues at the weekend, is one of the other early pace-setters.

Notts County, managed by former Premiership star Kevin Nolan, are second, one point behind leaders Luton after the Magpies were beaten 2-0 at Crewe on Tuesday.

Cumbria's former Carlisle keeper Adam Collin missed that defeat through injury, while defender Shaun Brisley - who joined County in the summer from Carlisle after being a part of United's squad that made the play-off semi-final last term - was an unused sub.