Steve Evans will take no time in celebrating being top of League One - his thoughts will firmly be on sloppy defending and missed chances in the home draw with Carlisle United.

Exeter City's loss to Leyton Orient meant that Boro's 2-2 draw with the Cumbrians was enough to send them above the west country side.

However, this was a game that Boro shouldn't have lost, conceding the second equaliser on 90 minutes to leave the boss not happy in the slightest.

"I’ve got no interest in being top of League One," he said. "We played very well but gave away two of the worst goals that a team can concede and a team that are deserving of nothing get a share of the spoils.

"That dressing room is flat and they’ll stay flat because we need to learn. 

"And we do learn - win, lose or draw - but in spite of a good performance, individuals have to take responsibility. 

"There were two shambolic pieces of defending. 

"It is offside but the goalkeeper should deal with it. He’s further back than Sainsbury’s. 

"He should deal with it but he is a young goalkeeper who we think highly of and he will learn from it for sure. 

"We shouldn’t lose that header at the back stick [for the second equaliser]. It is a nominated marker but he gets across him. 

"I’ll go home, have a glass of wine and reflect on missed chances and sloppy defending. 

"We’ll take it but it is a sore one and I don’t really care what Carlisle think, I don’t really care what Simmo thinks.

"They should have been well beaten but we didn’t take our chances."

Jamie Reid got both of the Stevenage goals but missed chance after chance to grab a hat-trick, and even more.

Evans said: "Jamie bursts through one on one but tries to take it with power rather than pass the ball into the back of the net which he is very good at. 

"He does it again in the second half but hits the goalkeeper full on. Is it a good save or a bad finish? It’s a bad finish for me because he hits it straight at [Jokull Andresson]. 

"Kane Hemmings with the class he has should take a touch and score but he shoots over the bar. 

"He should control it and pass it in the corner. 

"And Carl Piergianni is unlucky with a couple of headers off the bar. 

"We know we are playing well, we know we have players coming back from injury so we’ll take confidence in that. 

"But you cannot give goals away like we have and go away happy. 

"That’s not an option."