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A freezing cold December night and strong blustery wind across the pitch didn't help matters either with defensive clearances often disappearing over the fence and into the gardens of the new houses beyond. It's safe to say a few gnomes may have been forced into last-ditch headers to keep the ball away from the ornamental fish pond.
To their credit though the young Blues, with only first-year professionals Ferris, James Earl and Adam Bradley not coming from the youth team ranks, still tried to play football and showed a good attitude throughout in a match in which they could have easily not fancied given the conditions. Having not seen Celtic play it's hard to tell what kind of team they put out for the tie but they did seem to have a few youthful players in the side, although the fact that they are struggling in the Wearside League this season suggests they may have been near to full-strength.
Carlisle got the first shot on goal in on seven minutes after Andy Hardman had been brought down 20 yards out, Earl, back after a long injury-break, sending the resultant free-kick inches over the top. Celtic replied three minutes later but the effort from the edge of the box was weak and straight at Bradley in the Blues goal. With 15 minutes gone Hardman's quickly taken throw-in from the left found Pete Ferris, the United man running in and driving a 22-yard shot across goal and out at the far-post.
Bradley was again called into action for the Blues on 21 minutes when he got down quickly to save a 15-yard effort at his near-post. Five minutes later Hardman saw his shot from the edge of the box blocked after some good work down the right by Ferris and Earl. Just after the half-hour mark Carlisle centre-half, and my man-of-the-match, Dan Wordsworth played a lovely ball over the top for target-man Gary Madine to chase down, Madine quickly rounding the Cleator keeper only to see his effort on goal from a tight angle near the right-hand by-line somehow miss the open net and go out at the back-stick.
With three minutes to go to the break an Earl corner saw Ferris have his 15-yard header easily clutched out of the air by the Celtic glovesman at his back-post. The last action of a relatively quiet first-half coming two minutes later when Wordsworth conceded a free-kick just outside the middle of the 'D', Cleator wasted the opportunity though as the set-piece was side-footed miles over Bradley's crossbar as it flew high up into the metal fence behind the goal.
United youth team boss Eric Kinder made a change at the break as he brought on native West Cumbrian Richie Hoban for Hardman on the left-hand side of midfield. Five minutes in and a ball in from the right by Earl broke to Ferris 12 yards out down the right-hand channel, his shot on goal seeming to take a nick off Hoban before being hooked away from the line by a Celtic defender. Three minutes later Hoban and skipper Shaun Vipond linked up nicely to set Ferris up for a 20-yard drive which flew over the Cleator crossbar.
Shortly afterwards, following a nice spell of possession football from the young Blues, Ashley Combe, playing in an unaccustomed left-back role, sent in a good cross which Earl volleyed narrowly wide of the near-post from eight yards out. Sixty seconds later Earl then trying his luck from fully 30 yards out with a right-footed shot which was easily taken by the keeper. Play was starting to open up a little now and with 56 minutes gone an effort by the home side from the left-hand angle of the Carlisle box was sliced high and wide of Bradley's goal.
Bang on the hour-mark some good pressure by Ferris saw the ball given away by Celtic to Stephen Hindmarch, the United striker's 25-yard drive again pinging off Hoban on it's way past the near-post. Two minutes later Vipond and Ferris combined to set up Hoban for a 22-yard shot which the terrier-like midfielder pulled wide of the target. After 64 minutes Earl made a good run down the right but he couldn't get his cross into the box right as the ball flew into the Cleator side-netting at the near-post.
Madine held the ball up well on 68 minutes as he eventually sent Ferris away down the right-hand channel, Ferris cutting in and firing a left-footed drive straight at the Celtic keeper from 22 yards out. With 20 minutes to go, in a match that seemed to be inevitably drifting towards extra-time, a good pass over the top of the right-back by Vipond saw Madine take the ball down well only to fire his left-footed half-volley inches over the crossbar from just inside the penalty area.
Two minutes on and Madine saw his goalbound header from an Earl corner blocked, Ferris feeding the ball back out to Earl but this time the cross in was taken by the keeper. The first booking of the tie came sixty seconds later when the Cleator number five was yellow-carded for a bad late challenge on Blues right-back Matthew Brown. With 79 minutes gone Earl played in Ferris down the left-hand channel, Ferris again hitting his 20-yard effort straight down the throat of the Celtic keeper. Sixty seconds later Ferris again looking the man most likely to break the deadlock as he shot well over from 22 yards out.
After 82 minutes Ferris and Earl again combined, this time Earl getting a powerful 20-yard shot in across goal which the keeper did well to save, Madine and Hindmarch then feeding the ball back to Hoban just outside the box, Hoban's effort was always rising though as it flew well over the top. Celtic finally got a move going two minutes later when their two strikers linked up, the smaller of the two pulling a right-footed shot wide of Bradley's near-post from 20 yards out.
Sixty seconds left to go and a low ball in from the right from Ferris broke across to Madine 15 yards out in the left-hand channel, the Gateshead-based centre-forward seeing his shot well held at the near-post by the Celtic keeper. The last chance to avoid another freezing 30 minutes of extra-time action coming in injury time when a Vipond ball over the top saw Earl's off-balance flicked header taken in by the Cleator glovesman on the bounce.
The Blues again chose the re-start as the time to make another substitution, perhaps with the home reserve team game against Bury on Wednesday afternoon in mind, with Matthew Wood coming on for Hindmarch. Two minutes in and Ferris get on the end of a low ball in from the left from Earl, the United right-winger could only blaze his 15-yard effort well over though. The goal that Carlisle fully deserved finally did come in the 95th minute though, Ferris the inevitable scorer given the amount of shots he had on goal.
Terry Stewart, who performed excellently in the heart of the defence with Wordsworth all night, breaking out from a cleared Celtic free-kick with the ball at his feet. Stewart then giving up possession to Vipond who hit a lovely pass down the right-hand channel and into the run of Ferris, the 20-year old cutting back in past the left-back and firing a powerful 15-yard left-footed drive into the near bottom corner of the net, a shot that left the Cleator keeper with no chance of saving it.
Two minutes later, with United's full-time training on a heavy pitch now seeming to be an advantage as the Celtic lads tired, Vipond sent a deep free-kick up which led to a penalty area goalmouth scramble in which Earl looked to be pushed to the floor, no spot-kick was given though despite the Carlisle protests. Sixty seconds before the 100-minute mark the Blues made their third and final change of the match when Mike Stewardson entered the fray on the left-hand side of the front three to replace Earl, the United man having performed well on his comeback from injury.
Shortly afterwards a cross in from the right by the hard-working Brown saw Madine send a looping 15-yard header into the arms of the Cleator keeper. After 102 minutes Stewardson sent Madine racing away down the left-hand channel with a good pass, the Celtic glovesman was quickly off his line to block Madine's shot though and the chance was gone. Almost straight from that Cleator went close with a similar effort, this time though their number ten managed to go round Bradley only to see the back-tracking Stewart preserve Carlisle's 1-0 lead by hoofing the goalbound effort away from the line and out for a corner.
The match went through a bit of a quiet spell now until midway through the second-half of extra-time as Celtic pushed up in their search for an equaliser. A 45-yard free-kick deep into the United box seeing Bradley miss his punch eight yards out and the ball fly inches past the Carlisle near-post off the head of the partially unsighted Cleator number eight. The last chance of another goal in the tie came sixty seconds from time when Ferris and Madine set up Stewardson 12 yards out, the left-winger taking Madine's ball into him down well only to fire his left-footed half-volley narrowly wide and into the Celtic side-netting.
The final whistle came shortly afterwards on a thoroughly professional performance from the United youngsters, certainly on a night when it would have been easy not to put in the 100% effort that they did put in. The poor playing surface certainly didn't encourage good football but the lads still made every effort to keep the ball on the floor as much as possible. Rumours abound that we now face Workington Reds in the quarter-final in early March although there doesn't seem to be any official confirmation of that about at the moment.
United line-up :
Adam Bradley, Matthew Brown, Ashley Combe, Terry Stewart, Dan Wordsworth, Andy Hardman (Richie Hoban 46), Shaun Vipond (c), James Earl (Mike Stewardson 99), Stephen Hindmarch (Matthew Wood 91), Gary Madine, Pete Ferris.
Unused substitute :
Grant Carson.
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