"It wasn't pretty, but the players showed great spirit," said Paul Trollope. "We gave away two poor goals and again showed we have a lot of work to do defensively. Having worked on set-pieces all week, it was very disappointing to concede from a corner.
"But the last 10 minutes could signal a turning point for us. Jeff Hughes has the quality to score goals like that and we knew it when we signed him because he had done it against us.
"I'm not sure what part of his body Chris Lines scored with, but it was a vital goal for us. Our poor run is over and we can now look ahead with more confidence."
Carlisle boss Greg Abbott said: "We played well and it was a terrific game in the conditions. It's my job to make sure the lads don't get too down about losing.
"Rovers were more direct than us, but we passed the ball better. It's always a sickener to lose to such a late goal, but the players worked hard and produced some decent football."
Abbott gave veteran midfielder Graham Kavanagh an advance role just behind striker Vincent Pericard and was pleased with the results.
"Graham is a quality player but at this stage of his career he doesn't always have the legs to keep tracking back," he said.
"I want him to get into more forward positions where he can make his ability count and it's something we will look at doing again."