Manager Keith Curle felt Mansfield striker Lee Angol should have seen red in Saturday's 1-1 draw.

The frontman kicked out at Mark Ellis in the first half at Brunton Park after being fouled by the Blues defender.

Ref Darren Handley booked both players after they then squared up.

Curle said: "I didn’t see exactly what happened beforehand, with the challenge, but the lad's on the ground, and then he's kicked out.

"In my mind it's a straight red.

"I don’t know what interpretation the referee had or what he saw exactly, but for two players to get booked was disappointing.

"And to get booked now because you've been kicked - well, there's a few players I played against that need some bookings."

Curle also said he did his best to ignore the touchline "pantomime" involving visiting boss Steve Evans and assistant Paul Raynor.

The Mansfield duo complained about United's use of towels when taking throw-ins, leading the officials to remove them from the ball-boys.

Curle said: "I don't mind Steve Evans and Paul Raynor but as soon as the game starts I focus on what's going on on the green grass.

"It's part of a pantomime. They contest everything, shout and scream, the two ugly sisters, and you can either get involved and embroiled in it and take your focus away, but that's not me.

"Unless, that is, they say something that's detrimental to me, about my staff or players, and then I'll chase them down the tunnel."

On the towel incident, Curle said: "[The officials] said it wasn't the same for both teams, as in when the ball went out of play, the ballboy wasn't running up to the player and giving him the ball back.

"With our ballboys, if the player asks for the towel, they try and give him the towel.

"We've just had 95 minutes of football, do we have to go and chastise the ballboy for doing their job? It was probably just something else for Steve and Paul Raynor to get upset about. I don't mind. I quite enjoy the pantomime."

Curle, meanwhile, said he was happy enough with a point after Saturday's eventful game.

Hallam Hope fired United ahead and Jack Bonham saved a Kane Hemmings penalty before Calum Butcher's leveller.

Carlisle also hit the woodwork three times and Curle - who is set for more talks with free agent defender Clint Hill - said: "I've got to be pleased with the point. The dynamics of the game were cut and thrust, both teams wanted to get forward and score goals, so the game became very open.

"It has been a good challenge for the players after the defeat at Lincoln. We've shown good character going away from home in the Checkatrade against Morecambe on Tuesday, and then a good game for us to come back to [in the league] with a team [Mansfield] that's obviously trying to buy their way out of the division against a team that's trying to build success to get us where we want to go.

"We tried to play, we tried to earn the right to play and at times I thought we caused them problems.

"We dealt with the majority of things they had - big, physical, quick, aggressive, trying to use a battering ram effect to come through our middle - but I thought Mark Ellis was superb."