|
So, that meant a back five of Keiren Westwood, Paul Arnison, Danny Livesey, Kevin Gray and Aranalde. The trio doing the hard graft in midfield were Chris Lumsdon, Chris Billy and Adam Murray, whilst strung across the front line were Bridges, Hawley and Derek Holmes. Waiting in the wings once more were young substitute keeper Adam Bradley, Brendan McGill, Simon Grand, Simon Hackney and Glenn Murray.
Both sides came out of the blocks slowly although it was the visitors who had the better of the opening stages. After four minutes Town midfielder Brian Wilson sent a great cross in from the left which was met firmly by the head of the unmarked Kayode Odejayi ten yards out, fortunately for United though Westwood was alert to the danger and leapt acrobatically to tip the ball over his own crossbar.
Sixty seconds later Bridges got on the end of some good link-up play between Holmes and Hawley but he snatched at his half-volley from the edge of the Cheltenham box and sent it flying wide of Robins keeper Shane Higgs’ far-post.
The visitors were keeping hold of the ball well early on as Carlisle’s three struggled to match up with their four in midfield and in the 13th minute a great chance went begging for them. Right-back Jerry Gill thumped a long ball up into the box which Odejayi headed back into space just inside the United box. David Bird ran on in the ball, without anyone tracking him back I hasten to add, but the young midfielder who has never scored at first-team level before kept that statistic going as he fired a rasping half-volley across Westwood but straight into the Warwick Road End.
Two minutes later United targetman Holmes got himself into a good position from a Hawley pass through, the ball wouldn’t drop for him quickly enough in the right-channel however and Bird was able to get across to block the shot out for a corner.
With 20 minutes gone Cheltenham right-winger and dangerman JJ Melligan hit a cracking, dipping half-volley from just outside the Carlisle "D" which Westwood was confident enough to watch over the bar but there were hearts in a few United mouths as it fizzed inches over. The Robins were to come even closer to taking the lead shortly afterwards when a little bit of pinball in the box led to the ball hitting the outside of the Cumbrians post. Melligan put in a mis-hit corner kick which fell straight to Bird 18 yards from the Carlisle goal. Bird’s first-time drive had Westwood beaten but Arnison was still stationed on the post to kick the ball away, he only succeeded in booting it against the sprawled Westwood though, the ball then flying back past Arnison and hitting the far-post. Luckily from there it fell straight back to Arnison’s feet who, this time, was able to hoof the ball well away from danger.
In the 24th minute Arnison tried one of this long-range piledrivers from all of 25 yards that was extremely well hit, but it was always rising just that little bit too much as it flew just over Higgs’s woodwork. Two minutes later, I am reliably informed, due to the necessity for a toilet break, that Arnison was booked for a challenge that probably didn’t deserve a yellow card as he brought down Wilson.
That booking is the fifth of the season for Arnison so he will the miss the trip to Macclesfield next Sunday. At least all these one-match bans for five yellow cards are coming at different times so it isn’t weakening the side, it’ll be interesting to see whether Lee Andrews or David Beherall gets the call up for his right-back spot though in eight days time.
It looked all on as if the Blues had taken the lead in the 28th minute but a brilliant save by Higgs in the Cheltenham goal kept the scores level. Holmes sent Hawley clear down the left who cut in back inside centre-half Michael Townsend and crossed in to the middle of the Robins box where Adam Murray was waiting to sidefoot back across Higgs and, as he must have thought, into the back of the net to give United the lead. Somehow Higgs managed to twist his body back across though and get a full palm on the ball to send it out for a corner and leave Adam Murray standing in disbelief with his hands on his head.
Arnison again had a crack from distance on the half-hour mark which this time was on target but Higgs was able to gather it at the second attempt. Cheltenham were still a threat though and after 33 minutes Odejayi found himself on the end of a Melligan corner which had seen Westwood flapping and the Blues defence were grateful to watch his header fly wide.
Five minutes before the interval and Carlisle finally made the breakthrough when Bridges netted his seventh goal in the United colours. Holmes chipped a good ball down the left channel which Hawley ran onto and crossed in low across the six-yard box, Bridges flew in unmarked on the opportunity and was able to sidefoot powerfully home past Higgs to give the Blues a hard earned lead.
The half-time whistle from referee Scott Mathieson came after a minute of injury time, where a precedence wasn’t set, with the exact time added on being played. It had been a tough opening period for United as they struggled to play good football on the ground on a terrible surface against yet another big physical side, is it just me or does every side in the top half of the table bar us have eleven players who are seven foot tall? Still the Carlisle players went down the tunnel holding a precious 1-0 lead and that was all that mattered.
The Blues came out after the break much better than they had started in the first-half and they looked a different side with the new found confidence that the goal had given them. Three minutes in and it was Adam Murray, who had a good game for United, who burst through from midfield and laid a nice ball in for Hawley, Carlisle’s top scorer hit his shot quickly but it was straight down the throat of Higgs.
Odejayi, who was kept quiet throughout by Gray and Livesey, headed wide from a Melligan corner on 53 minutes as the visitors once more looked to find their feet in the game. Gray, especially, was imperious at the back for 93 minutes as he won everything in the air, sadly he still won everything in the air in the 94th minute, in a moment his performance really didn’t deserve.
In the 59th minute some nice work by Bridges led to the ball dropping back to Lumsdon on the right-angle of the Cheltenham box. Lumsdon tried to pick his spot as he side-footed the ball towards goal with his left foot but it was a particularly weak effort that Higgs was easily able to gather as it came to him on the second bounce.
Play went quickly up to the other end and ex-Hereford striker Steve Guinan, who also had a quiet game in the Robins forward line, was allowed too much time to get in a shot on goal. His effort wasn’t as good as the control and movement though as it flew high, wide and not very handsome.
After 61 minutes came yet another foul on Hawley at Brunton Park this season which didn’t result in a Carlisle free-kick. Hawley was basically wrestled to the ground right on the very edge of the Cheltenham box by Townsend which left 6613 of the 6759 strong crowd baying for the blood of referee Mathieson, worse was to follow on that score though.
Two minutes later Bridges cut in from the right as Carlisle enjoyed a good period of possession in the game. A nice piece of skill gave him room to shoot past recent Town signing Mickey Bell but he pulled his shot wide with his left-foot just as Arnison was coming up in support.
The visitors were certainly still in the game though as they pressed for an equaliser. Around the 70 minute mark Melligan sent in a free-kick which Bird got his head to but he sent his effort off target, shortly afterwards Wilson sent in a low drive from the edge of the United box but once more it was wide of goal. Immediately after the second of those two chances Cheltenham boss John Ward brought on Damian Spencer for Guinan, then three minutes later United manager Paul Simpson replaced the tiring Holmes with the pacey Hackney.
A moment of rare hilarity for the Blues fans in a tense final quarter came fifteen minutes from the end through a strangely subdued Melligan. Wilson crossed in deep from the right to the United back-post where Melligan tried to dive and get acrobatic volley on the ball, all he did though was kick fresh air and injure himself as he landed in a crumpled heap. Loan signing from Bristol City, Steven Gillespie, came straight on in on place of Melligan as the Irishman limped forlornly to the bench.
Carlisle were inches away again from taking what would have turned out to be a vital two goal lead in the 81st minute through substitute Hackney. Bridges cut in quickly, and cleverly, from the right to fire in a shot which flew off the legs of centre-half Gavin Caines straight out to Hackney just inside the left edge of the Town box. Hackney steadied himself as he blazed his drive left-footed across goal but it was anguish for Blues fans as it zipped millimetres wide of the far-post with Higgs rooted to the spot.
With 85 minutes gone Glenn Murray came on in place of Bridges and almost immediately after that substitution his namesake Adam picked the ball up 20 yards from the Cheltenham goal, his effort on goal was rushed though flying over the bar and into the Warwick. Two minutes later the visitors handed young midfielder Michael Wylde his Football League debut when he came on for Gill, Caines was then pushed upfront with Town going all out for the equalising goal and reverting to three at the back.
The action was coming thick and fast now as Gillespie got a powerful shot in from just inside the Carlisle box which Westwood did well to cling onto as Cheltenham players rushed in for the rebound. From there, with play stretched all over the pitch, Glenn Murray found himself clear inside the right edge of the Robins box, he got a powerful drive in but, like Westwood, Higgs did well to hold onto the ball.
Then came the moment when referee Mathieson decided to take centre stage and assist the visitors in their quest for a point. Two and a half minutes into the three minutes of the injury time put up on the board Adam Murray was adjudged to have fouled Mickey Bell at the corner flag in the Paddock/Warwick corner. It was, quite frankly, an absolutely ridiculous decision, and one which eventually cost the Blues two points and the top place in the table.
The ball then went out up in the United half with the Blues taking a throw-in from which Glenn Murray gave away, again, a highly debatable free-kick. With 20 seconds already gone over the time put up surely the final whistle would go, but no, play was still allowed to continue. The ball was lumped into the Carlisle box, headed all over the place and eventually found it’s way out to Bird on the left edge of the penalty area, Bird then crossed back in to the far-post where midfielder John Finnigan was positioned to head it back into the danger area. All United skipper Gray had to do was get a firm head onto it away from goal and surely that was it but from three yards out he inexplicably headed it the wrong way into the top corner of his own net to send the Carlisle players slumping to the ground. It was utter heartbreak for players and fans alike and as I looked down at my watch it was now 45 seconds over the three minutes that should have been played, as Blues boss Paul Simpson said in his post-match interview : "the referee got the result he wanted."
Post-match quotes :
Carlisle manager Paul Simpson said it was a "blow" and was furious with referee Scott Mathieson. Simpson described the award of a free-kick for Cheltenham in the build-up to their equaliser as "pathetic".
He added: "We did enough to win the game. We had the chances to win it. It would have been nice to go top of the league, and it would have been a massive confidence boost.