Roddy Collins had to contend with a new injury crisis as Stuart Whitehead, Steve Soley and Brendan McGill all picked up injuries against Swansea City. He decided to select three central defenders in Lee Andrews, Mark Winstanley and Dave Rogers with Peter Murphy pushed up into midfield. Richie Foran returned after suspension. Jonny Allan had to be content with a seat on the bench as Will McDonagh came in for a rare start. Winstanley took the captain's armband. Rogers settled into the left-back slot as Carlisle opted for a conventional 4-4-2 formation. Rovers had the first meaningful effort on 11 minutes when Drew Shore produced a snap shot that Peter Keen did well to get behind. Ross Weare then did well to see off Lee Andrews but his shot was again comfortably claimed by Keen. Trevor Challis then fired in a speculative shot from a Weare flick that flashed narrowly wide. United's first real chance came in the 23rd minute when Green found Stevens who linked with Foran to set up Peter Murphy who was robbed with a goal-saving tackle. Within 30 seconds Michael Jack had a shot blocked inside the six-yard box. Rovers should have gone in front on 26 minutes when top scorer Nathan 'Duke' Ellington exploited a mistake by Murphy to turn sharply and fire against a post, Weare missing the follow-up chance. A Murphy cross found Foran's head in the 33rd minute but the ball popped harmlessly over the bar. Ellington, who was looking very lively, fired in a shot that bounced off Keen who grabbed the rebound. Sergio Ommel replaced the tall Weare eight minutes from the interval, seemingly for tactical reasons. He was soon involved inside the area as he set up Challis who got in a shot on target but Keen was equal to it. In injury time Jack and Stevens combined well on the edge of the box and Jack's shot was tipped over by Pirates' keeper Scott Howie. Defenders Mark Winstanley and Dave Rogers did well from a corner to create an opening early in the second period but Howie smothered Rogers's effort. Ommel exploited some space and fired over the bar as the Gas came forward again. Nine minutes into the half veteran Ian Stevens was taken off by Roddy Collins in favour of Steve Halliday. Mistakes by Green and Winstanley helped put the Cumbrians in trouble as Ellington headed a cross against the bar with Keen stretching to save. The referee awarded a goal kick. A few minutes later Ellington was in the thick of the action again as he flicked another dangerous cross inches wide of the far upright. The pressure increased as a David Hillier corner produced a series of blocked shots and ended in a melee which brought bookings for Challis and Winstanley. Thirteen minutes from time Rogers came off, United re-organising in the process with Murphy reverting to left-back. A minute later half the crowd thought Rovers had scored when Winstanley had to scramble back to clear off the line after Keen had come off his line. Carlisle fought back in an end-to-end encounter, Andrews producing an inspired run which led to a McDonagh effort being blocked. Veteran Mark Walters entered the fray for Mark Smith as Bristol rang the changes late on. As the game entered injury time Foran had a great chance one-on-one with the keeper but Howie grabbed the ball with his outstretched left hand. Al's verdict: Another useful point and up to 16th place. One of the more eventful 0-0 draws this season. Plenty of chances for either side, slightly more for the home team but the fact that it was kept scoreless owes a massive amount to Mark Winstanley who had a captain's game in defence. Foran wasted a great chance late on to snatch it but overall a draw was a fair result. |
