Will McDonagh, the man who claimed the all-important winner at Kidderminster on Saturday was again the hero when his deflected shot found the back of the net to record the golden goal at Brunton Park against Stockport County early in the second period of extra time. County, relegated from the First Division last season, were without their player-manager, former England star Carlton Palmer because of injury. However ex-Chester man Luke Beckett, a former target of United's was in their starting line up. Beckett is County's top marksman with 13 goals so far. However it was his miss early in the second half that was perhaps the key incident in this match, which got better as it went on. Beckett drew out Matty Glennon after racing clear of the Carlisle defence but drilled his shot wide when a goal seemed certain. It gave United the confidence to go on and gain the win their fine build-up play deserved. The first half had not seen many chances, although Beckett did force Glennon into a save from a glancing effort and Carlisle went close when an Osman shot flew narrowly over the bar. The second period, which came to life when Beckett missed that chance, was dominated by the home side who swarmed forward with defenders Brian Shelley and Peter Murphy particularly impressive. The Cumbrians went very close when Brendan McGill collected an Osman pass and fired inches wide of the right hand post. Then Craig Farrell took a pass and made space for a left foot shot that was cleared off the line after beating Hatters keeper Alan Blayney. Substitute Richie Foran almost thought he had made the vital breakthrough a few minutes after replacing John Sutton when he scampered through the heart of the defence and lifted the ball over Blayney and into the net but it was controversially ruled offside in what looked a debatable decision. United looked the stronger side as the game entered extra-time, Roddy Collins calling for that little bit extra that would bring the deserved reward. After a first period that produced more good football but few clear chances, the second period brought the decisive moment when McDonagh pounced on the chance to shoot from outside the box, the ball taking a wicked deflection off Jim Goodwin to deceive Blayney and hit the back of the net. Al's verdict: Our improvement goes on and we seem to be getting better with each game. Our defence looked rock solid tonight and there was a lot less reliance on Osman to make things happen in midfield. Shelley and Murphy got forward well from the back and Summerbell as usual was busy winning tackles for us. Being able to bring on Foran in the second half of games is a definite bonus because Farrell and Sutton are doing a lot of work and Richie is a great asset as a fresh pair of legs to worry tired defenders. Farrell looks every inch a genuine centre forward, strongly holding up the ball and getting through a lot of good work. He was unlucky not to score before McDonagh again grabbed the glory, a shade fortunately as he was far from our best performer on the night, although he played his part, as did all the team. Roddy Collins must be delighted. We have gone from losing to moderate Third Division sides like Rochdale and Exeter to beating more than adequate Second Division outfits like Oldham and Stockport in just two months. Bring on the FA Cup - and the Imps. |
