Hopefully, the spirit shown, despite the adversity of being shown a red card, can prompt a positive response in our next outing, the away game against sixth-placed Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday night.
Carrick is clear his side will be on their mettle for the clash in west London, which feels even more important now in the context of the battle for a place in next season's UEFA Champions League.
"I thought we were [the better team with 10 men]," he said. "I thought it was a really good reaction. We spoke at half-time about staying positive and how the game can change and what we were capable of doing.
"I was really pleased with the boys and the way they did that. But listen, it’s a little bit down and disappointed because of the result - that’s natural. It’s an important game and any game we lose, we don’t want to lose. If there was any other reaction from them, you’d be a little bit concerned so there’s that for sure.
"But it won’t dampen the confidence or the belief moving forward.”