A big gate of almost 9,000 made for an electric atmosphere with the home side hopeful of collecting three points and climbing above Cheltenham to gain automatic promotion. United brought their full complement of away supporters and they made a fair amount of the noise. Lee Andrews was made skipper in the final match of his first season, reckoned to be the SEVENTH man to have the captain's armband over the course of another turbulent campaign. He was almost certainly the youngest ever player at just 18 years old to be awarded the honour. Wayne Corden had the first shot in the 3rd minute but it flew harmlessly over Peter Keen's goal. Chris Greenacre then had a shot blocked by Andrews and from the follow up Andy White's effort was tipped over by Keen. From the resulting short corner, the ball was headed on to Corden who scored despite the efforts of Richie Foran on the goal line to keep it out with his head. Shortly after the goal the home supporters exploded with noise again as news of a goal for Plymouth against Cheltenham came through on transistor radios amongst the crowd. Mansfield forced another corner and defender Allen Tankard got up to head over. United's first real chance came when Foran tried to set up Stevens but Kevin Pilkington came out to gather. Immediately the Stags went up the field and Corden lifted the ball over Keen and over the bar when a second goal beckoned. Keen made a good save again when White was first to a corner with his forehead. As United struggled to contain the home side top scorer Greenacre bundled a shot just over the cross-bar. A Stuart Bell free kick found Ian Stevens who should have done better than scoop over the top from barely six yards. Lee Williamson went into the book for a foul but Bell wasted the resulting kick. Another corner on 30 minutes proved United's undoing once again. The kick found White who drove the ball into the top corner from close range after Carlisle's defence failed to cope. With Argyle now two-up, the home fans began to celebrate promotion somewhat early. A bottle thrown on to the pitch from the Carlisle end was a signal of fan unrest as choruses of "We Want Knighton Out" rung out around Field Mill. Allan put in a dangerous cross aimed at Foran but referee Hall blew up for a foul by the Irishman. The half-time whistle brought some respite for United who had been clearly second best throughout the half. Halliday for Stevens was the only interval switch. Five minutes into the half Greenacre slipped the ball marginally wide as Keen came off his line. Veteran midfield schemer Scott Sellars fired a shot straight at Keen. On 65 minutes Keen missed a long ball but Adam Murray fired the ball so far wide that it went out for a throw-in. Foran went into the book for persistent infringements. Adam Thwaites replaced Bell. Mark Birch and Foran both appeared to collect knocks and both tried to run them off. Teenager Steve Rooke came on for his debut to replace Allan with 12 minutes left. The result by now was virtually assured as the sting went out of the game. Supporters of the home team gathered on the edge of the pitch ready to invade. Sub David Kelly fired across the goal and White failed to get the vital touch. There was danger of an invasion before the final whistle as whistles for free kicks almost brought a premature stampede. Another Kelly burst almost brought another goal but Birch intercepted. The final whistle went seconds later sparking a mass invasion as Mansfield celebrated their promotion to Division Two. Al's verdict: This was always going to be a difficult match for United's young side with the home team going all out for promotion. In truth the result was never really in doubt and although there were a few chances for the Cumbrians, the fact that we've scored no goals in our closing five games never suggested we were going to close the gap. Congratulations to the home side for their promotion and fantastic support from the United contingent who appeared to make more noise over the course of the 90 minutes and continued to remind Mr Knighton of his responsibilities! |
