It was very much a game of two halves as Carlisle United drew 1-1 at Leyton Orient.

Perhaps, it was just as well United were 1-0 down at the break on Saturday in east London. The reason I say that is because, if it had still been 0-0, Steven Pressley’s side could have, potentially, tried to settle for a goalless draw.

But having been behind at half-time, I think that left Carlisle and their players with no option but to try and be more positive after the restart.

When you have been on a run of four straight league losses, like the Cumbrians had been on prior to the weekend, it’s a relief to stop that run and get the first point back on the board.

But the key is to kick on now and build a positive run of results, starting with tomorrow’s home game against Macclesfield.

If you look at the Silkmen’s away record so far this season, they have picked up a couple of victories and a couple of draws on the road, but they have only actually scored seven away goals.

Therefore, I would expect them to employ quite a negative system and, hopefully, the Cumbrians can put them under a bit of pressure. That’s what I think fans are looking for.

At the moment, Carlisle are not really putting teams under pressure for 10-minute or 15-minute spells during their games.

I would be looking for the Blues to go at Daryl McMahon’s men, right from the start of the game. Then, that could help to provide a platform to build on from.

Cash-strapped Macclesfield Town are, however, five places and five points better off than United. The table doesn’t lie and, if the Blues are not careful, they could end up in a bit of a relegation battle.

But, hopefully, Carlisle can get a good result this weekend, ahead of their FA Cup tie against National League South side Dulwich Hamlet next Friday evening, with the match set to be shown live on BBC Two.

At the Breyer Group Stadium, United defender Jack Iredale scored his first goal for the club, and indeed his first goal in English football, to help them earn a share of the spoils.

I’m pleased for the lad. It will have done the 23-year-old the world of good to get his first goal under his belt.

The goal came from a corner, although the ball did go loose for a bit before Iredale smashed it home. I’m not sure why but Carlisle just don’t seem like they are going to score from set-pieces this season.

Elsewhere in League Two this week, Jim Bentley has resigned as manager of Morecambe. Instead, he is now in charge of National League side AFC Fylde, having signed a two-and-a-half-year deal.

When you look at what the 43-year-old has done during his time with the Shrimps, he has performed miracles, really.

No disrespect to the likes of them, Stevenage and Crawley, but I don’t feel they are football clubs that are quite as big as Carlisle United.

When the draw for first-round ties in this season’s FA Cup was made, you could see Dulwich Hamlet supporters were excited to be handed a home tie against Carlisle because we are a long-established Football League club.

That’s why it’s sad to see the position the Blues are currently in.

But it can happen in football, just look at what happened to Notts County last campaign for example.