United’s youngsters slipped to a 2-0 reverse against a strong Oldham outfit at a cold and damp Frenchfields this morning.
The two goals from the Latics condemned the Blues to defeat in a relatively poor game where both sides spent the majority of the 90 minutes battling for the ball in midfield.
The match got off to a quiet start as either team checked the other one out and tried to get used to a particularly bobbly surface.
Oldham were the first to press forward though in the sixth minute as Jason Taylor got on the end of a nice ball through from the impressive Chris Baguley, who seemed to be at the centre of everything, but his shot from the edge of the United box drifted wide of Carlisle keeper Adam Bradley’s far-post.
The young Latics are top of the Youth Alliance League North West Conference having won 13 of their 15 games so far, scoring a netbusting 55 goals along the way at an average of four a game. It was to easy to see why they are riding high in the table as they were a big physical side who looked pacey and dangerous with their excellent movement off the ball every time they went forward.
It was the forward play of the visitors that was to give them the lead in the 17th minute as Lewis Alessandra netted after a nice move. Oldham right-back Neal Eardley played the ball into the feet of Ashley Kelly down the right-channel. Kelly then took the ball to the by-line and laid a nice cut-back into the path of Alessandra who side-footed neatly home from 12 yards out.
In the 24th minute the Blues failed to get a Latics corner away from the danger area and the ball fell to Baguley out on the right edge of the Carlisle box. Baguley put a nice cross in but centre-half Michael Pearson was unable to keep his header down and the ball sailed over Bradley’s bar.
Two minutes on and it was Oldham again who were making chances as Alessandra tried a left-foot curler from the right-angle of the United box which went easily wide of the Cumbrians goal. A couple of Latics players had been well placed in the centre for a cross and weren’t best pleased when Alessandra sent his effort off target.
Just after the half-hour mark Carlisle’s James Earl gave a free-kick away for handball after Kelly had played a pass on. Baguley touched the set-piece on to Neal Eardley on the edge of the United area but Blues skipper Dan Kirkup closed the shot down quickly and got a good block in.
On 37 minutes it was the hard-working Alessandra who was again in the thick of the action. He turned well inside Carlisle right-back Martin Graham on the left by-line but he got greedy once more and shot into the side-netting from a tight angle ten yards out.
After 41 minutes Bradley was left one-on-one as Deane Smalley played Taylor in down the right edge of the United area. The Blues keeper stood up well though to parry out Taylor’s powerful effort which Alessandra then miskicked horribly as the ball dropped to his feet.
Just sixty seconds later the Cumbrians finally got a sniff of the Latics goalmouth. The hobbling Earl, who had gone over on his ankle five minutes earlier, stepped up to take a set-piece wide on the left after United striker Rob Bainbridge had been bundled off the ball. The cross in was a great one as it curled towards Terry Smith in the Oldham goal but Kirkup was just unable to get a clean touch on it and the chance was gone.
Bang on half-time and the United lads suddenly found themselves 2-0 down going into the interval. Kelly was sent racing clear by Sean Eardley and initially it looked like Carlisle centre-half Terry Stewart had done well to get across and nick the ball off his toes. His intervention though only sent the ball straight across to Smalley who hit a crisp half-volley back across goal and into the far corner of the United net despite Graham’s efforts to get in the way of the goalbound shot.
A cold wintry morning at Frenchfields as United's and Oldham's youngsters do battle
The first thing Blues youth team coach David Wilkes did at the break, with Earl clearly unable to continue, was to call midfielder Gary Baker away from the substitutes knockabout and make him the first change of the game when the second-half kicked off.
Three minutes after the interval and we were treated to the unusual sight of a yellow card in a youth team game, although it was well deserved. Baguley hit a long ball over the top which was chased down by Kelly as Bradley raced off his line to clear. The United keeper got to the ball first and was caught badly on the shin as Kelly lunged into the challenge, it was a tackle that might even have brought a red card in a first-team game.
After 52 minutes Baguley sent a sweet delivery in from a corner on the right-hand side. Smalley got up well to get a header in but once more the effort went well over the Cumbrians bar.
Eleven minutes later Carlisle’s trialist left-winger brought down Neal Eardley on the right-edge of the United box, earning a booking for his troubles. Baguley took the free-kick but his curled effort was high, wide and not very handsome.
The Blues’ trialist, who is called Adrian Caswell and is apparently from Kendal, showed a little bit of promise in the first-half but faded slightly in the second period. It was never going to be easy for him though making his debut against a top of the table side with a Welsh under-19 international at right-back covering his flank and in the 65th minute he was replaced by the right-sided Ashley Combe.
That meant a big reshuffle in the Cumbrians’ ranks as Combe went into right midfield, Mike Stewardson moved upfront and Andy Hardman dropped back into the left midfield area.
With 71 minutes gone Neal Eardley played a ball up to the Oldham substitute number 14 who showed a nice touch to play in Alessandra but the scorer of the Latics first goal could only blaze his drive over Bradley’s crossbar and into the field behind the United goal.
In the 80th minute Richie Hoban came on to replace Terry Stewart for Carlisle as David Wilkes went for one last throw of the dice in an effort to get something out of the game.
Four minutes later Pearson beat Blues left-back Matthew Blake down in the corner and put a cross into the middle, for what seemed like the hundredth time though the chance was wasted as the number 14 headed over the bar.
Sixty seconds later Vipond gave the ball away to the Oldham substitute number 12 who the laid it back to the onrunning Baguley but his effort from 20 yards out went wide of the United far post.
That was the last meaningful action of a disappointing encounter and there was just time for Vipond to be booked for late tackle on Baguley in injury time before the official blew the final whistle.
United line-up :
Adam Bradley, Martin Graham, Matthew Blake, Dan Kirkup, Terry Stewart (Richie Hoban 80), Shaun Vipond, James Earl (Gary Baker 46), Mike Stewardson, Adrian Caswell (Ashley Combe 65), Andy Hardman, Rob Bainbridge.
Oldham line-up :
Terry Smith, Neal Eardley, Shaun Beeley, Michael Pearson, Sean Eardley, Deane Smalley, Ashley Kelly, Chris Baguley, Ryan Black (substituted 64), Lewis Alessandra, Jason Taylor (substituted 75).
Other results in the division this morning :
Burnley 4-1 Shrewsbury
Macclesfield 1-4 Walsall
Port Vale 2-1 Wrexham
Preston 0-2 Bury
Rochdale 1-2 Blackpool
Tranmere 4-3 Chester
Wigan P-P Stockport
Updated Youth Team Results : Click here
Updated Youth Team Table : Click here