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So, United took to the field as follows - Keiren Westwood, David Raven, Zigor Aranalde, Peter Murphy, Kevin Gray, Hackney, Chris Lumsdon, Paul Murray, Kevin Gall, Michael Bridges and Karl Hawley. With Derek Holmes missing from action after his knee injury received on Tuesday night, and Glenn Murray and Raphael Nade out on loan, it left Carlisle with no real attacking option on the bench. Simon Grand the only real potential emergency centre-forward amongst a substitute five of himself, Anthony Williams, Paul Arnison, Danny Livesey and Luke Joyce.
Oldham were ruing injuries to their two main goalkeepers and so gave a debut between the sticks to 19-year old David Knight, signed on loan from Middlesbrough in the middle of the week. It was Knight who looked like he was going to tested first i nthe match as well when Bridges tried to get a shot in from a tight angle 12 yards out, the ex-Leeds man was off-form all afternoon though and could only drag the effort across goal.
The ball wasn't cleared out very far though by the Latics' Will Haining, with Gray heading back in for Hawley, only for the "hitman" to see Dutch centre-half Stefan Stam nip in quickly and nick the ball off his toes before he could get a shot in. Bridges fired over from distance in the seventh minute and was then brought down for a Blues free-kick by Stam shortly afterwards, Murphy sticking a dangerous dead-ball shot in from 22 yards out on the right-angle of the box which was well saved by a diving Knight.
After eleven minutes Hackney, again playing in an unaccustomed central midfield position, gave the ball away to Oldham enforcer Richie Wellens. The ex-Blackpool man getting in a powerful drive from 20 yards out which forced Westwood into making an excellent save at his near-post. Six minutes later, Hackney was set up by a clever Bridges backheel but his 22-yard effort on goal was well blocked by a rapidly backpedalling Wellens.
Bridges himself was looking to get on the scoresheet with 20 minutes on the clock but his volley from the edge of the box, after some nice control on his thigh was sadly, from a United perspective, straight at Knight in the Latics goal. The home side went close to taking the lead twice within the space of a minute though as the match see-sawed from end to end. Firstly Crystal Palace loanee Lewis Grabban, fed in by a Gary McDonald pass, seeing his 18-yarder expertedly tipped over by Westwood, then sixty seconds later Haining, after a great run down the flank by Neal Eardley, was very unlucky to see his 12-yard effort ping back off the inside of the United far-post and straight into the gloves of a grateful Westwood.
Murray, back on his old Boundary Park stomping ground, robbed Wellens in midfield on 22 minutes and pushed the ball into Hawley down the right-hand channel, Hawley seeing his goalbound shot pushed around his own far-post for a corner by Knight. Lumsdon's flag-kick in finding it's way to Gall via the head of Stam, but once more finishing was to be the achilles hell for the Cumbrians as Gall's half-volley from inches ouside the Latics' penalty area was hit straight at Knight.
Stam was again in the thick of the action after 28 minutes as he got on the end of a header down from ex-Rotherham man Paul Warne, following a free-kick in by veteran left-back Simon Charlton, Westwood again showing good handling as he grabbed hold of Stam's 20-yarder. Wellens saw his effort from range easily saved by the Carlisle keeper in the 35th minute, then sixty seconds later Grabban had a goal disallowed when he was flagged for a clear offside after going through on goal from a Wellens ball up.
The real refereeing entertainment came shortly afterwards when referee Graham Salisbury from Preston increased Oldham's goalkeeping woes and reduced the Latics to ten men after 39 minutes. Gall chasing down a long ball forward from Gray only to see Knight just get there first on the edge of his own box, the Latics' glovesman then finding his own momentum taking him beyond the penalty area with the ball still in his hands. The whistle blew and the official produced a straight red card for the young loanee, much to the derision of the 4,225 home fans and delight of the 1,855 strong travelling Blue Army, the total attendance on the day being 6,080. Warne was the unlucky outfield man to be immediately sacrificed as youth-team keeper Terry Smith came on for his debut as Oldham's last remaining glovesman at the club.
Aranalde's dead-ball free-kick came to nothing but in the 43rd minute the Cumbrians couldn't have come any closer after a neat one-two between Hackney and Bridges. Hackney then running in clear on goal as he looked all on to score, only to see his half-volley from point-blank range somehow expertly tipped onto the underside of the bar by young Smith, the ball bouncing away to safety. Bridges was unable to control a cross in by Gall as the half drew to a close, then in injury-time Gall himself shot poorly wide when both Lumsdon and Bridges had been well placed for a pass. That miss sending the teams back down tunnel at 0-0, but with the Blues holding what hoped would prove to be a crucial one-man advantage after an entertaining first-half.
United never really got going throughout the second-half though and the opening minutes of the period were extremely quiet as neither side looked like doing anything in forward areas. Hackney drove down the left-hand channel and fired in a 25-yarder which flew well wide early on, then in the 49th minute Hawley tried a shot from outside the box which went straight at Smith, the Cumbrians huffing and puffing without actually looking like scoring.
It was Oldham's turn to break forward in the 51st minute though as Wellens raced away down the right, his dangerous cross in finding Grabban in space, only for the Palace youngster to fire his 12-yard volley wide of Westwood's far-post, with the Carlisle keeper looking beaten. The Blues couldn't have gome much closer three minutes later when Aranalde saw his close-range header from a Lumsdon corner blocked on the line by Charlton, Gray was first onto the loose ball but his shot went flying into the midriff of the diving Smith. Play then breaking out to Bridges but he was unable to keep his shot down from 12 yards out and the chance was gone as you were beginning to get the impression that the Cumbrians weren't going to score if they played all night.
Bang on the hour-mark Hawley was caught offside as he tried to chase down a Gray ball up into the Latics penalty box, straight from that break in play Oldham boss John Sheridan making his second change of the game as he brought on Chris Taylor for Paul Edwards. It was Hawley again who was looking the most likely for Carlisle in the 64th minute as he got to a Lumsdon pass forward before the onrushing Smith, sadly for the Blues though the ball bobbled wide of the Latics goal, with the Cumbrians even denied a corner by Mr Salisbury despite the shot seemingly having taken a nick off Smith on it's way past him.
Little of note was happening in the game now, with the home side defending well in numbers and United reduced to pot-shots from distance as they were unable to break down the Oldham back-line, Hawley, Bridges and Gall all guilty of wayward long-range efforts in the space of three minutes. That was starting to give the Latics some more confidence now and in the 68th minute Carlisle had a scare when a ball down the middle by Wellens fell nicely for Taylor, fortunately for the Blues though the young striker sent his lobbed effort over Westwood but inches wide of the Cumbrians far-post.
Referee Salisbury was getting it in the neck from the home fans in the 75th minute when Stam and Haining clashed heads after a long throw-in by Aranalde. The official forcing the pair to wait for a break in play to re-enter the field, leaving Oldham with eight men on the pitch despite United having won a corner, the chance for Carlisle was wasted again though as Hawley fouled McDonald and conceded a free-kick when the Lumsdon flag-kick came into the Latics box.
In the 78th minute Raven saw the yellow card brandished in front of him after he lunged in on Taylor with a poor and aggressive challenge, a bad tackle that some very strict referees could even have shown red for. The game was getting really scrappy now as neither side showed any sign whatsoever of grabbing a late winning goal, the next "action" coming in the 82nd minute when another loanee, in gangly striker Maheta Molango, came on to replace Grabban for the home side.
There was a lesson in playing to the whistle for the Blues in the 87th minute after Bridges looked to have been fouled by Wellens inside the Oldham half. The United boys momentarily taking their foot off the gas and allowing Molango to streak away through the middle, Westwood was still alert however as he made a good save from the Swiss born forward's 22-yard effort. Carlisle's second yellow card of the match came just as the clock was ticking onto 90 minutes when Gray brought down Molango as the two tussled for a Stam ball forward.
Haining shot over the United bar from distance in the third minute of injury time with the last chance of the game, but sadly there was still time for the Cumbrians to receive their third booking of the afternoon seconds before the final whistle. Murphy being the latest Blue to come out on the wrong end of a physical challenge with Molango, the Dubliner pulling the Oldham man to the ground and seeing yellow for his troubles. That was the end of the action then on a very frustrating afternoon all round really for both Carlisle players and supporters alike.
Post-match quotes :
After the game Oldham manager John Sheridan looked to the positives. The Latics had lost three of their four previous League games and Sheridan said:
"I'm very pleased with our performance. I was too far away from the sending off incident to have much of an opinion but what I do know is we dug in with ten men and deserved what we got.