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Five minutes later Terry Stewart gave away a free-kick 22 yards from the United goal, a curled left-foot shot over the Blues defensive wall was particularly weak though and proved easy for Mitchell to pluck out of the air with both hands. After sixteen minutes Carlisle were unlucky not to take the lead when skipper Shaun Vipond cruised past two defenders and laid a neat pass into the path of Gary Madine running down the left-hand channel. Madine hammering in a left-footed drive that was arrowing into the near corner from 15 yards out only for the 'Dale glovesman to make a great one-handed save.
Shortly afterwards Stewart became the first of many players to be booked in the game when he was somewhat harshly yellow-carded for kicking the ball away after conceding a free-kick 25 yards out. The set-piece being dollied into the hands of Mitchell in similar circumstances to the one taken earlier. 'Dale did take the lead in the 21st minute though when a corner in was headed back into the mix from the back-post, that leaving the lanky number ten with an unmissable tap-in from almost on the goal-line to put the visitors 1-0 up.
Midway through the half Mitchell made an easy save from a 20-yard effort in on his goal shortly before the Blues had a lengthy spell of pressure where they were just unable to nick an equaliser. In the 26th minute right-back Matthew Brown sent a great cross in from the right which broke to young left-winger Connor Tinnion 15 yards out at the far-post. Tinnion thumping in a goalbound left-footed half-volley across goal only for a 'Dale defender to hack it away from the line.
Two minutes later a clever pass by Madine inside the right-back sent Hindmarch racing in down the left-hand channel. Fifteen yards out and the striker really should have fired a shot in on goal but he chose to cross the ball only for the pass to fly behind the onrushing Andy Hardman and out for a throw-in to the visitors. Bang on the half-hour mark and this time Madine was setting Blake free down the left-wing, Blake's low centre just evading Hindmarch on the six-yard line as the 'Dale defence made a hurried clearance.
Two minutes on and Madine was brought down as he tried to break into the left-edge of the visitors box. While the referee was making sure the free-kick was taken from the exact blade of grass a scuffle broke out in the pack of players waiting for the set-piece that resulted in Brown going to the ground clutching his face. The official was clueless at this point to be honest as it took him a good 20 seconds to notice what was going on, the end product, after a chat with his assistant on the far side, being three bookings, one for Madine and two for the visitors as their number three and six were yellow-carded.
With 39 minutes on the clock Hardman played in Hindmarch down the left-hand channel, the ball took a bobble just as Hindmarch was pulling the trigger though and his 15-yarder was sliced well wide of the near-post. Four minutes later and the visitors managed to find their way into the Carlisle half, when Stewart, who had a tough day against two big and physical centre-forwards, conceded a free-kick just outside the Cumbrians 'D'. This time a right-footer took the set-piece with the ball curling low past past the United far-post.
The last action of the opening period came right on the whistle when United went as close to finding the net as they would do all day. A cracking pass over the top by Hardman saw Madine just beat the 'Dale keeper to the ball a foot or two outside the visitors 'D', Madine heading on into the penalty area past the stricken glovesman. It looked all on a tap-in from there but the 'Dale number five somehow got back to slide the ball away from danger as the rest of the young Blues held their heads in their hands.
Two minutes into the second-half United centre-back Ashley Combe made a good tackle in his own box only to see the ball break straight to the 'Dale number ten, Mitchell then making a sharp save with his legs to block out the resultant 15-yard drive that flew in on his goal. The match started to get a bit scrappy now and the next chance took another eleven minutes to come when Carlisle's Matthew Wood made a good run down the right and saw his low ball in end up at the feet of Tinnion. The young left-winger trying a repeat of his early half-volley, this time he didn't catch it as well though and it proved an easy take for the 'Dale keeper at his far-post.
Madine's cross in from the right on the hour was handballed outside his area by the visitors left-back, Blake whipping in a great inswinging cross with his left-foot which fairly flew across goal with no United player taking a gamble to get on the end of it. From that break in play for the goal-kick Blues boss Eric Kinder made a double substitution as he brought on Dan Wordsworth for Brown, who was getting a head of steam up after being fouled numerous times, and Michael Dowson for Tinnion. The change in personnel seeing Combe move over to right-back as Wordsworth slotted into the middle of the back-four.
On 65 minutes Wood made a good tackle 25 yards out only to then shoot wildly over the bar with his right foot. The match was getting increasingly scrappy now as it degenerated badly into a midfield battle with the extremely physical tactics of the visitors not helping matters. Niggly challenges seemed to be breaking out all over the park between the players as the Blues got a little frustrated with a 'Dale outfit who seemed to want the win at all costs without really attempting to play any football.
As the Cumbrians pushed for a leveller the visitors broke away on 73 minutes but the number ten was more than a bit greedy as tried to curl the ball home from fully 25 yards out instead of trying to find an unmarked team-mate in the United box. Eric Kinder made his third and final change of the match with twelve minutes to go when he made a direct swap in midfield as West Cumbrian Richie Hoban came entered the fray in place of Hardman.
Two minutes later and it was 'Dale looking to double their lead, a centre in from the left coming out to their number four 22 yards from goal on the right-angle of the Carlisle penalty area. A fierce right-footed half-volley flew in across goal from there which Mitchell did particularly well to push round his far-post for a corner. The resultant flag-kick in was part-cleared by United but only to the visitors number five who sent a powerful drive inches wide of the target with his right foot.
The last action of any note, with Carlisle never really looking like grabbing a late leveller, came in the 86th minute when Vipond was yellow-carded for a mistimed tackle on the the impressive 'Dale number seven, the challenge eventually seeing the young right-winger limp out of the action three minutes later. So, a disappointing result, and a slightly disappointing performance, although it's always difficult to get anything going when only one side is actually interested in playing football.
United line-up :
Alex Mitchell, Matthew Brown (Dan Wordsworth 60), Matthew Blake, Terry Stewart, Ashley Combe, Shaun Vipond, Matthew Wood, Andy Hardman (Richie Hoban 78), Stephen Hindmarch, Gary Madine, Connor Tinnion (Michael Dowson 60).
Results in the division this morning :
Accrington Stanley P-P Bury
Burnley 2-0 Wigan
Carlisle 0-1 Rochdale
Chester 0-3 Tranmere
Oldham 0-1 Preston
Walsall 0-1 Port Vale
Preston 5-1 Burnley (played Wednesday)
Fixtures in the division next week :
Blackpool v Bury
Macclesfield v Walsall
Shrewsbury v Wrexham
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