Boss James Tose admitted Carlisle City made hard work of their 2-1 home win over strugglers Eccleshall on Saturday.

City took the lead through a delightful long-range strike from youngster Ben Davidson but Eccleshall equalised after the restart in this Hallmark Security League clash.

Tose’s troops dominated throughout the closing stages of the game and were awarded a penalty late on but Michael Reed couldn’t convert from the spot.

But Carlisle did eventually force home a winning goal with Jamie Heath finding the bottom corner.

“Sometimes, when you play against some of the lower teams in the league, you sometimes get dragged down to that sort of a level of a game,” said Tose, who brought himself off the bench and was involved in Heath’s winner.

“I think we have probably had at least 20 chances and only converted two of them, including the winner late on in the game.

“But we should have put them to bed before that.

“We should have stuck four, maybe five past them. But, at the end of the season, all it will say is that we got three points and a win, so that’s all that matters.

"I thought we showed a bit of character and dug deep.”

Both of Carlisle City’s goals were high quality strikes and came after a midweek defeat to Penrith last Wednesday, in which, Alan Casey produced a similarly impressive finish.

Tose said: “They were good, especially Ben’s goal in the first half - great technique.

“It was a shame the keeper got a finger to it because it would have looked better if he hadn’t but it was a great effort from 40 yards out and it was a great move for the last goal of the game.

“I got it deep, sprayed it wide and Jamie has cut in from full-back and hit one from the edge of the box into the bottom corner.

“I’m glad Jamie got that because he has gone from being a centre forward to doing a job at left-back for most of the season. We all know he can finish and it was nice for him to make an impact and contribute.”