Workington Reds boss Mark Fell was delighted with the “resilient” performance that saw his side hold Carlisle United.

Reds kept the Blues at bay in a 0-0 pre-season draw at Borough Park on Saturday.

New manager Fell was most encouraged by his side’s defensive resolve against their EFL visitors.

“It absolutely has pleased me,” he said.

“I think that structure and that organisation was the most pleasing aspect of the afternoon for me.

“We gave up a lot of the ball, which we knew we were going to do – because they [Carlisle] are really high quality, established pros, and we knew they were going to be really proficient in those areas – but I think for us it was about testing our resilience, our concentration, our mentality.

“If there was a grade for that, we've come out with bells on.”

Workington could even have claimed a notable pre-season victory had Steven Rigg taken a good late chance.

Workington kept Carlisle at bay to record a well-earned clean sheetWorkington kept Carlisle at bay to record a well-earned clean sheet (Image: Ben Holmes)

“That would have been the icing on the cake, but it wasn't to be,” added Fell.

“It was a case of seeing a different side of us.

“We’ve been a little bit disjointed, but we're going to be – it’s a brand new team, a new way of working, different shapes, different ways of doing things – but the players were a credit.”

READ MORE: Paul Simpson's verdict on Blues' stalemate against Reds

Fell also reflected on a positive afternoon off the field as a crowd of 1,214 watched the pre-season action.

“That’s why we're so thankful to [Carlisle], because they've certainly swelled the gate – over 1,200 is brilliant, magnificent,” he said.

“I would hope that the supporters that came from a Workington perspective saw a team that they could get behind, and a team that they can associate probably with the town – we were hard-working, resilient, we concentrated, we backed each other, we didn't shirk any tackles, that's for sure.

“For me it was a huge step in the right direction.

“We're always grateful to Paul [Simpson], Gav [Skelton] and Billy [Barr], for bringing a team here, and I hope that they got something out of it as well, in terms of what they're looking at for their season.”