United Youth 0-1 Preston North End Youth

It was back to earth with a bump for the young Blues this morning after their FA Youth Cup exploits as they slipped to defeat against a strong Preston North End outfit.

The match got away to a relatively even start although the visitors had the first chance on five minutes. Carlisle skipper Dan Kirkup brought down Lilywhites striker Ashley Stott 25 yards out on the right-hand side. Central midfielder Ashley Parillon stepped up to take the set-piece but his right-footed curler was no threat to Connor Grant in the United goal as it went well over the bar.

Four minutes later Cumbrians midfielder James Earl was sandwiched out in an aerial challenge 30 yards out with Preston players Warren Beattie and Iain Howard. Kirkup blasted the free-kick in on goal but he pulled it and North End keeper Ben Hinchcliffe watched it go wide.

After fifteen minutes Blues centre-half Terry Stewart got his head on a cross in from Preston right-back Dylan Adams. The ball though went straight out to Parillon 25 yards from goal but his half-volley was screwed off target.

Just two minutes on and the visitors were once more pressing forward when the over-worked Stewart cleared the ball out from the United area. Adams got on to the loose ball and hit a cracker of a drive from 25 yards out which whistled inches away from Grant’s far-post.

It was all Preston early on as the Blues continually struggled to keep hold of the ball in forward areas and in the 19^th minute they again went close. A long free-kick up by Adams found it’s way to left-winger Iain Howard out on that flank. Adams cut inside Cumbrians right-back Ashley Combe and played a lovely ball across the six-yard box but there was no-one on hand to finish and the chance was gone.

With 33 minutes on the clock Carlisle right-midfielder Jake Simpson chased down a header from Kirkup which had been missed by North End centre-half Richard Baker. Simpson’s first touch was poor though and Baker’s defensive partner Matthew Cropper was able to get across to cover, that missed opportunity was to cost the Blues dearly as the Lilywhites went straight up the other end and took the lead.

Cropper’s clearance had flown across to left-back James Archer who then sent Howard scooting away down the left. Howard took his time as he waited for the support to arrive but it was worth his wait from a Preston perspective when he pulled the ball back to Beattie 15 yards out who side-footed sweetly home into the top corner to make it 1-0 to North End.

Straight after the goal the injury-prone Earl was replaced in a straight swap with Matthew Wood coming on to take his place in midfield.

After 36 minutes Howard picked the ball up 25 yards out from the Carlisle goal and ran on before hitting a shot in which he didn’t connect with it all well as he could only send it bobbling across Grant and out for a United free-kick.

Two minutes later Welsh under-17 midfielder Liam Moloney cut inside Blues left-back Matthew Blake from the right and crossed in to the near-post where the ball was met by the head of Stott but his flick-on flew into Grant’s side-netting.

Once again it was the visitors pushing forward in the 41^st minute when an almost identical move ended with an almost identical result although this time it was a 15-yard shot from Stott that found it’s way into the Carlisle side-netting at Grant’s near-post.

Shortly before the half-time whistle the Blues got their first real threat in on the Lilywhites goal. Blake hurled in one of his typically long throws and after some headed pinball in the Preston box Kirkup was well placed to hit a volley from 15 yards, sadly for United it was straight at North End keeper Hinchcliffe.

It had been a tough opening period for Carlisle who struggled to retain possession in all areas of the pitch against a Preston outfit who were simply physically stronger against a United side full of schoolboys and first years YTS’s. The terrible bobbly surface didn’t help matters either, for both sides, as a long ball was often the only way to play it on a pitch where you couldn’t take any chances.

Eight minutes after the interval the Blues went the closest they would ever to go finding an equaliser. United midfielder Shaun Vipond swung in a free-kick from the left wing which came off the head of Preston’s Baker and on to Kirkup at the back-post. Carlisle’s skipper steadied himself as he picked his spot but sadly for the Cumbrians he got his header across and over Hinchcliffe inches wrong and it pinged back out off the inside of the post.

Just before the hour mark some great inter-play between Howard, Beattie and striker Aaron McConville saw McConville put clear down the right-hand channel, his shot didn’t match the quality of the move though when it flew miles over.

After 65 minutes Stott was brought down by Carlisle’s Stewart in a central position 25 yards out from the United goal. Howard drove a strike in which flew straight into the wall and Simpson was able to clear as the Blues found themselves pegged back again.

There was a flurry of substitutions with 68 minutes gone as both sides looked to freshen things up. Moloney and Stott were replaced by James Dunn and Chris McGrail respectively for North End while Matty Bell came on for Stephen Hindmarch for the Blues. That meant a big reshuffle for Carlisle as Bell went to left-back, Blake moved up to left-midfield and Simpson went upfront to partner Bainbridge.

With fifteen minutes to go United’s Wood brought down Parillon in a hefty challenge out on the left-wing and after a square-up between the two players Wood was booked for the tackle. Baker swung the free-kick in with his right foot but it was cleared away for a corner by Stewart.

After 78 minutes Bainbridge was replaced by Matthew Brown which meant that United ended the game with a side containing four schoolboys, five first year YTS’s and only two second year YTS’s, no wonder the lads were finding it a real battle. Regulars Martin Graham, Richie Hoban, Adam Bradley, Pete Ferris, Dan Dillon, Andy Hardman and Mike Stewardson all missing the game for a variety of reasons.

Sixty seconds later began a succession of Preston corners, clearances and headers on and off target as the ball seemed to rebound everywhere. The best chance of the lot fell to McConville who saw his close-range effort catch Bell on the leg and fly out for yet another flag-kick from which Vipond hacked clear an 18-yard Baker shot.

Carlisle’s last chance of taking anything from the game came in the 83^rd minute, shortly after Nathan Fairhurst had replaced McConville for the visitors. Grant hit a long goal-kick out which Baker flicked on into the path of Simpson. The young midfielder-turned-striker tried a first-time half-volley but he didn’t catch it properly and it drifted well wide of Hinchcliffe’s far-post.

The last six minutes were played out with ease by North End as United huffed and puffed but never showed enough quality in the final third to trouble a strong defence. The final whistle signalled a typical league defeat for the youngsters with plenty of passion and effort but no threat at the business end of the pitch. The lads have no time to dwell on the disappointmentthough, as next up, this coming Wednesday night, is their huge FA Cup Fifth Round tie at home to Sheffield United in a 7pm kick-off.