Hawthorn Coach Sam Mitchell says he was impressed by his side's ability to fight back despite facing a narrow loss to Carlton.

The Blues defeated the Hawks in a one-point thriller on Sunday at the MCG.

But the brown and gold managed to produce an impressive comeback after giving Carlton a 34-point lead following the first term.

"It was not a very nice first quarter, but then the boys stuck in and played the right way," Mitchell said.

"I thought our pressure around the ball was really good for the majority of the game.

"We got our noses in front for a little while, but we were just unable to maintain it towards the end."

Hear Mitchell's full press conference below.