The game was in the balance at 1-1 with an own goal early in the second half from Max Wober cancelling out Willy Gnonto’s early opener.
Boro, much improved on the restart, spurned a huge chance to take the lead when Ben Doak was denied by Illan Meslier.
Leeds made them pay and goals from Daniel James and Brenden Aaronson secured an eighth home win on the spin for Leeds, who moved top.
Carrick, whose team drew 1-1 with promotion-chasing Burnley on Friday, said: “important moments in important games, in any game, are critical.
“Our opponents in the last two games had extensive Premier League experience.
“Our youngsters who haven’t been in that circumstance can gain a lot of confidence from the way we handled it. We are hoping to be close to the top of the table, and the boys are extremely upset to not take more from both games, particularly tonight.
“We can draw a lot of confidence from that. As I’ve previously stated, there are ways to lose while still seeing the bright side. Sometimes it’s how you lose, but there’s a lot of positives to take away from tonight’s game.
“I was upset with the results. I think the game was well balanced in the second half, which was where we wanted it to be.
“We had a great fantastic spell and appeared to be in a position to win the game. We were accomplishing a lot of excellent things, and we were extremely disappointed to lose it in the end.
“They started well, and we started a little nervously. We grew into the game and became more upbeat as it progressed.
“We showed good quality in taking possession and a little more positive pressing. We played with greater confidence and made it happen, which carried over into the second half, and I thought we were extremely good in the first half of the second half.”
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