Steve Evans hit out at the “shambolic” defending which cost Stevenage victory in their 2-2 draw with Carlisle.
Jamie Reid’s double looked set to give Boro three points, but Joe Garner’s last-gasp header rescued a point for the Cumbrians, for whom goalkeeper Jokull Andresson was in inspired form.
The result was enough to take Evans’ newly-promoted side a point clear at the summit, albeit having played a game more than the majority of the division, but the Boro boss was not in the mood to revel in the lofty position.
“I’ve got no interest in being top of League One,” he said. “We played really well, but we’ve given away two of the worst goals a team can concede and a team deserving of nothing get a share of the spoils.
“That dressing room is flat and they will stay flat because we need to learn. Individuals have to take responsibility when we praise them and also when we criticise because it’s two shambolic bits of defending.”
Reid gave the hosts the a 15th-minute lead, firing home after Carl Piergianni flicked on Dan Butler’s free-kick.
Parity was restored four minutes later when Sean Maguire tucked the ball home via a deflection and in the aftermath, Stevenage assistant Paul Raynor was booked for dissent.
Andresson produced fine saves from Jordan Roberts, Charlie McNeill and Reid before the break and the first chance of the second half saw Piergianni hit the bar.
Reid doubled his tally with 16 minutes to go before being denied a hat-trick by the Icelandic goalkeeper, whose saves proved vital as Garner struck at the death.
“Jamie Reid will take the plaudits because he’s scored two, but he could have had five or six,” Evans said. “That’s not the standards you need at this level to win the game.
“There will be no plaudits from me about being top of the league when people around us have games in hand, that means nothing to me that nonsense.”
Carlisle came up alongside Stevenage in League Two last season and United boss Paul Simpson hailed goalkeeper Andresson for his part in earning his side a hard-fought point.
“Jokull is outstanding,” he said. “He’s made some excellent saves and that’s why we’ve brought him in because he’s a shot-stopper.
“He hasn’t got the height of Tomas Holy and his kicking might not be as good, but the players have got confidence in him.
“When he makes saves like that, they have more confidence in him and you need to be confident in your goalkeeper.
“It’s important to have a group who are ready and prepared to do the ugly stuff. I think if we do the ugly stuff throughout the game, then we could be taking away three points.”
Postecoglou: Spurs have a confidence problem to overcome
Ange Postecoglou says that Tottenham need to "overcome" their low confidence after suffering a 4-2 defeat to Liverpool on Sunday.
Spurs slipped to their fourth consecutive Premier League defeat, being left to bemoan their slow start as they found themselves 4-0 down by the hour mark thanks to goals from Mohamed Salah, Andrew Robertson, Cody Gakpo and Harvey Elliott.
Richarlison came off the bench to salvage some pride for Spurs, scoring one before setting up Son Heung-min for a goal on his 300th Premier League appearance.
Spurs had the opportunity to cut the gap to the top four after Aston Villa’s defeat to Brighton, but they remain seven points off a Champions League spot.
Postecoglou’s side still have a game in hand over the Villans, though he was sure that Spurs would be able to put their recent poor run behind them.
Asked if Spurs had a confidence problem, Postecoglou told Sky Sports: "Maybe in the front third there is.
"It probably is a bit of a lack of confidence, but again, that's something the guys have to work through.
"You have to find a way to overcome that because, ultimately, if you don't put pressure on the opposition in the front third after you've worked your way up there, they're going to get comfortable with their position."
Spurs have won just one of their last nine Premier League away games, failing to win any of the last five.
Despite that run extending at Anfield, Postecoglou highlighted what he thought was an improvement on their recent performances.
He continued: "Obviously a hugely disappointing outcome for us but at least we were more like ourselves today in terms of our football.
"Our last two away games at Newcastle and Chelsea, apart from the results which weren't great either, we just didn't try and play our football.
"I thought today, even in the first half, some of our football, our pressing was back to where it should be."
Roma 1-1 Juventus: Juve miss chance to close gap to second after draw with Roma
Juventus were held to a 1-1 draw at Roma on Sunday, missing the chance to close in on Milan in second place in Serie A.
Roma took the lead after 15 minutes when Romelu Lukaku found himself in the perfect position to tap in the rebound from a Bryan Cristante shot.
Bremer levelled with a header for Juventus just after the half-hour mark when Federico Chiesa picked him out inside the box from a corner.
Both sides had chances to find a winner in the final minutes, with Roma keeper Mile Svilar making a fingertip save to push Manuel Locatelli's volley over the bar.
Third-placed Juventus have 66 points, five fewer than Milan, who drew 3-3 with Genoa earlier on Sunday. Roma are fifth with 60 points.
Data Debrief: Leading from the back
Since scoring his first Serie A goal in the 2019-20 season, Bremer is the defender with the most headed goals in the Big-5 European leagues, netting 13 in total. Each of his last seven goals have been headers.
His goal was enough to earn Juventus a point today, but it means that they have drawn each of their last four in the competition - a first since February-March 2012 under Antonio Conte.
Chelsea 8-0 Bristol City: Blues rout hands Hayes perfect home send off
Guro Reiten starred as Chelsea thrashed already-relegated Bristol City 8-0 to keep their title hopes alive in the Women's Super League on Sunday.
The Norwegian scored four goals, netting the opener from the penalty spot to get Emma Hayes' last home game in charge off to the best start.
She scored the other three in the second half in just over 20 minutes, while teeing up Agnes Beever-Jones for the seventh goal with just two minutes left.
Beever-Jones got two, with Sjoeke Nusken and Niamh Charles also adding to the scoreline to eradicate the goal-difference advantage that Manchester City, who lost to Arsenal earlier on Sunday, had over them.
Chelsea move to within three points of the Citizens, with a game in hand over them, remaining in the fight to lift their fifth-consecutive league title.
Data Debrief:
Chelsea have scored eight goals in a game for the first time since December 2022 against Leicester City, a match they also won 8-0.
The Blues have scored in their last six games in the WSL, though it does not come close to their longest run of games with a goal in the competition - a run of 20 from April 2023 to February 2024.
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