|
It was down to the bare bones really for the Blues today, with Chris McDougall and James Wood out injured, and Jamie Cleary back in Belfast, Dan Wordsworth being drafted in as the only non-youth team player in action. The substitutes bench comprising of the rested Alex Mitchell and Connor Tinnion, along with regular youth-teamers, but still under-16s members, Steven Swinglehurst and Mark Sloan.
With no teamsheet on the go the Cleator players will remain nameless, although recognisable were former United YTS players Richie Hoban and Grant Carson, Hoban playing the whole of the game in central midfield while Carson was the unused goalkeeping substitute. The only other player of note for the Moor being centre-forward Michael Lewis who was on trial with Carlisle last season.
Kicking away from the clubhouse end Cleator got the first couple of shots in, a 25-yarder going over the top of Mark Gillespie's crossbar in the third minute, then three minutes later Hoban hit a right-footer in from a similar distance which went wide of the far-post. Carlisle's Liam Davison then sixty seconds later, from an Andy Cook lay-off, firing a 15-yard right-footed effort over the Celtic goal.
With ten minutes gone Cook's right-footed effort from 20 yards out was deflected wide for a corner, the resultant Jonny Blake ball in seeing the whistle blow for a foul on the Cleator goalkeeper. Cook then firing in a speculative long-range right-footed effort two minutes later which pulled away wide of the Celtic far-post.
John Seaton certainly didn't get the best connection on a 25-yarder moments afterwards as his right-footed shot from over on the left flew almost out for a throw-in on the far side. After 17 minutes Matt Duffy was somewhat harshly penalised for handball 28 yards out in the right-hand channel, the Cleator goal attempt straight from the set-piece zooming just inches wide of Gillespie's left-hand post.
The pitch was already becoming a gluepot by this early stage, with there being about as much bounce in the surface as there is in a bowl of rice pudding, the ball nine times out of ten simply going splat after descending from on high. Seaton trying to take that problem out of the equation sixty seconds after the Celtic free-kick with a right-footed 25-yarder that drifted wide of the target.
In the 20th minute, with United starting to put a bit more pressure on the Cleator back four, Cook hammered in a powerful low right-footed drive from 25 yards out that saw the Moor goalkeeper make an excellent save low down at his far-post. The home number one then making a clean catch on Blake's corner in.
Celtic though took the lead in the 26th minute from a simple ball through the middle that caught Tom Aldred uncharacteristically playing everyone a good five yards onside. One of the Cleator strikers then running through on goal where he finished well from 15 yards out past Gillespie with a right-footed strike into the top corner of the net.
The next action in the game saw Carlisle grab an equaliser just after the half-hour mark, a Seaton 25-yard cross-shot from over in the left-hand channel taking a looping deflection off a defender on it's way over the head of the Celtic stopper. Cleator going close to regaining the lead in the 36th minute when a cross in from the left saw a right-footed volley from 15 yards out go pacily wide of Gillespie's far-post.
A Moor shot from just outside the United penalty area went over the top of Gillespie's crossbar in the 37th minute. Then on 40 minutes Davison showed quick feet on the far by-line to get a shot in that was well blocked by a defender. Play going on as the ball was worked out to Simon Lakeland on the right, Lakeland's cross in seeing Cook badly mistime his header though and send it well wide from ten yards out.
The last chance of the half came the way of the home side two minutes before the break, a cross in from the left finding a Celtic player head goalwards from ten yards out. First-year YTS goalkeeper Gillespie made a good reaction save though, with Wordsworth then hacking the ball away from danger, or as far away from danger as it could go on a pitch with absolutely no run in it.
So down from watching Gillette Soccer Saturday in the warm clubhouse bar during the interval I saw the first shot on goal come in from Seaton just sixty seconds in, his right-footed 25-yarder going wide of the far-post. Gillespie though forced into action after 49 minutes when he dived down onto a Cleator shot from 22 yards out. He was however able to watch shortly afterwards as an effort from similar range zoomed well over his crossbar.
Three minutes later and it was 2-1 to Carlisle, Lakeland making an excellent run forward before feeding the ball on into the path of Cook. The United striker sticking a well-placed 12-yard right-footed toe-poke across the Cleator goalkeeper and into the far corner of the net. Blues boss Eric Kinder, with a reserve game at Sunderland on Monday evening in mind, making a substitution before the kick-off as Duffy was replaced at left-back by Swinglehurst.
With 55 minutes gone, and United starting to get well on top, Ryan Bowman's touch off to Seaton saw the Carlisle midfielder fire right-footed and wide of the far-post from 18 yards out. That being pretty much Bowman's last action in the game as Mark Sloan came on in his place upfront four minutes later.
Hoban was looking to level matters for the home side on the hour-mark, as the rain had all but stopped, but he could only shoot right-footed from long range straight at Gillespie. Celtic then making their first change in personnel as the clock ticked into the 64th minute, the home side swapping one of their centre-halves for a fresh one.
After 70 minutes Seaton set Cook up for a right-footed 25-yarder that went wide of the far-post, Cleator then making another substitution, this time in midfield, during the break in play. Two minutes later and Lakeland put a pass into the body of Cook which the United man took down well 15 yards out before shooting right-footed on the turn, his effort being well saved by the legs of the Celtic stopper.
The rebound came straight back to Cook however, his next shot from a similar distance going straight at the home goalkeeper, the effort was spilled though and Sloan seemed to nick the ball away from him before being brought down. For what only the referee knows though Cleator somehow got a free-kick, the official presumably thinking that the goalkeeper had two hands on the ball, which wasn't the case.
With 74 minutes gone Davison hit a right-footed 22-yarder into the arms of the home stopper, sixty seconds later Carlisle making their final substitution of the game when Tinnion came on in place of Lakeland. The change seeing Seaton drop into Lakeland's vacant right-back spot and Tinnion join the midfield ranks.
Nine minutes left and from a Shaun Law foul 22 yards out to the right of the United 'D', a left-footed Celtic effort directly from the set-piece deflected away for a corner down by the clubhouse. The resultant flag-kick flying deep over to the Carlisle back-stick where a 12-yard home header was nodded well wide of the target.
Cleator were pouring numbers forward now and after 83 minutes Gillespie made an excellent high diving save from a goalbound 15-yard effort. The corner in only being part-cleared by Seaton as Gillespie had to make another good parried stop on a fiercely struck drive from 20 yards out, an under-pressure United then finally managing to clear their lines.
With 86 minutes gone Blake put in Davison for a right-footed cross that saw Sloan completely miss his kick on the six-yard line, the ball then dropping to Cook only for his ten-yard right-footed blast to be well blocked by a Celtic defender. Davison then, from a Blake pass, having his right-footed shot from just outside the Cleator box saved sixty seconds later.
A 22-yard left-footer went wide of Gillespie's far-post with a minute left, then United wrapped up the win sixty seconds into injury time. Blake's ball in from the right first being intercepted by a Moor defender before Cook robbed him of possession, ran on and slid a ten-yard right-footed shot under the body of the home goalkeeper. Celtic's charge of the light brigade upfront then seeing Carlisle make it 4-1 with almost the last kick of the game.
Davison the supplier this time as he found Cook clear down the right-hand channel, the United striker notching his sixth hat-trick of the season with a right-footed 15-yard drive across goal and into the far bottom corner of the net. So, into the quarter-finals and a home game against Whitehaven awaits, while back in the youth league Burnley being waterlogged out of action again today means that the lads will set at the top of the table over a well-earned Christmas break.
United line-up :
Mark Gillespie, Simon Lakeland (Connor Tinnion 75), Matt Duffy (Steven Swinglehurst 52), Tom Aldred, Dan Wordsworth, Jonny Blake, Shaun Law, Liam Davison, Andy Cook, Ryan Bowman (Mark Sloan 59), John Seaton.
Unused substitute :
Alex Mitchell (GK).
Reserve Team Results : Click here
Reserve Team Tables : Click here