United boss Gary McAllister paid tribute to Dougie Freedman after the striker scored twice to secure a magnificent 3-2 victory against second-placed Carlisle United.

Freedman scored twice in the second half after Carlisle had been leading 1-0 at the interval, and the United manager revealed: "We've spoken about his guile and his touch of class, but we have to applaud his physical state.

"We sent him home last night and he re-appeared this morning and wanted to play. As soon as he looked me in the eye and said he wanted to play I had no doubts.

"The same goes for Jermaine Beckford who had been having treatment this week, but players know when they have the jersey they want to keep it."

CLICK HERE TO SEE A GALLERY FROM THE GAME

Jonny Howson was United's other goalscorer and the boss said: "He's a very promising player. He's not flash, he's just a guy who gets on and does his job. He's at an age where he listens and learns."

Carlisle had looked every inch promotion material during the opening 45 minutes after a Scott Dobie goal had given them a 16th minute advantage.

But United came out of the traps quickly and turned in a stunning second half display to secure the points.

"I felt we needed to raise the tempo and the players deserve credit for that," added the boss. 

"In the first half I thought we played at a tempo where Carlisle managed to get people behind the ball and get tackles in, but after that we looked like creating real chances and we did."

You can see more from Gary and Dougie Freedman on LUTV with extended highlights available from Monday...