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Those problems meaning that United were more or less forced into playing three at the back, with Matt Duffy, Blake and Brown playing as a narrow trio with John Seaton on the right and Connor Tinnion on the left pushing up as wing-backs. Then just when you thought things couldn't get any worse they did when striker Ryan Bowman limped off with a knee injury after only two minutes.
Central midfielder, and under-16s captain, Shaun Law came on in his place with Michael Hepplethwaite now pushed upfront to support Andy Cook. The Blues had the wind at their backs in the first-half but it was Wigan who started the better of the two sides with a shot straight at United keeper Alex Mitchell and then one wide of the far-post in a three-minute spell around the ten-minute mark.
Carlisle's first opportunity coming in the 13th minute when a deep ball into the box by Blake slipped through the Wigan keeper's gloves only for a covering defender to hack it away from the line. Eight minutes later and Tinnion ran in from the left to play the ball into the feet of Wood who made a run across the face of the visitors penalty area before firing a right-footed shot over the top.
Three minutes later and United almost took the lead from a set-piece after Cook had been pushed in the back 25 yards out to the right of the 'D'. Tinnion curling a lovely left-footed shot over the defensive wall only to see the Wigan keeper tip the ball onto his crossbar and over the top, the resultant Tinnion corner in being cleared by the Latics defence.
Carlisle were having a better spell in the game now and moments later Cook fed Wood inside the right part of the opposition penalty area, Wood's 15-yard right-footed shot from there cannoning back off the keeper's legs before Cook pulled the rebound wide of the near-post from a similar distance on his weaker left foot.
The Latics came back though and in a sixty second spell just before the half-hour mark a long-range half-volley flew over Mitchell's bar, and a ten-yard header from a left-wing cross drifted wide of the Carlisle far-post. United though nearly scoring in the 31st minute when a Seaton long throw was allowed to bounce in the Wigan box by a hesistant defence, Tinnion then seeing his point-blank tap towards goal hit the Latics keeper before the visiting glovesman was able to dive on the ball before it crossed his line.
With 33 minutes gone Tinnion was on the line at the other end when he had to clear away a close-range Wigan header from a corner at the far-post. The Latics did take the lead though two minutes later on the break from a Carlisle flag-kick, the initial low cross coming in seeing a Wigan player get an awful connection on a side-footed effort towards goal only for the ball to fly straight to a team-mate who was left with a simple tap-in from about two yards out at the back-stick.
Five minutes before the break a Latic tried a speculative right-footed effort from distance which disappeared away over Mitchell's goal. Then bang on the half-time whistle Tinnion cut in from the left on his weaker right foot and hit an 18-yarder across goal and wide of the Wigan far-post. The interval giving time to reflect on 45 minutes of football which had been extremely level bar the Wigan goal.
Two minutes into the second-half and Mitchell had to save smartly from a 15-yard Latics shot struck from just inside the left of his penalty area. Then six minutes later a weak free-kick was given against Duffy for a foul in the middle of the Carlisle 'D', the resultant set-piece being hit poorly into the United defensive wall.
Wigan again probing from a free-kick in the 56th minute, this time conceded by Brown 35 yards out on the left, the cross in seeing a Latic head back across goal and wide of Mitchell's near-post from eight yards out. The visitors putting a nice move together shortly afterwards which required Duffy to make an excellent block on a shot coming in from just outside the box.
Bang on the hour-mark and the Blues were dealt another injury blow when Seaton hobbled from the field to be replaced by Michael Dowson. The three minutes after that seeing a 15-yard Latic shot saved by Mitchell, Carlisle making their final substitution as Simon Lakeland came on for Tinnion, and then a long distance Wigan volley zooming away into the distance over Mitchell's crossbar.
Midway through the half, as tired legs allowed the game to open up quite a bit, a Wigan shot from 25 yards out on the right was sliced wide of the Carlisle near-post. Then after 68 minutes a Latic went in studs up on Law 30 yards out from the Wigan goal, and then went apoplectic at the referee for awarding a free-kick.
The player somehow avoiding a yellow card from a dreadfully weak referee who, whilst making no difference at all to the result, allowed players, nearly all on the visitors side, to swear at him throughout. Cook hammering the set-piece right-footed into the Wigan defensive wall, which then started a cavalry charge up the other end of the pitch, resulting in a Latics 22-yard shot across goal and wide of the target from the right-hand channel.
Carlisle grabbed a levelling goal on 70 minutes when Stephen Hindmarch played a nice pass down the middle for Hepplethwaite to race onto, the United man almost rounding the keeper, as before he had the chance to, he was brought down by the Wigan glovesman. Unbelievably the keeper never even got a talking to, never mind a card, from the official, with Duffy then sending him the wrong way from the penalty spot with a coolly taken left-footed effort.
Just to rub salt into the wounds Wood was booked for a foul on 72 minutes, then sixty seconds the later the Latics should really have been awarded a penalty themselves to my eyes. A Wigan player seemingly being fouled by Duffy as he sent a right-footed shot wide of Mitchell's near-post from 12 yards out. Mitchell making a brilliant one-handed save three minutes later when he managed to dive across to push an 18-yarder away from his goal.
The Latics did retake the lead in the 81st minute though as a punt over the top caught the United defence on the hop, as the Blues pushed up looking for their own late winner. Their centre-forward just getting to the ball before Mitchell to knock it over him 18 yards out and then have the simple task of running the ball home into an empty Carlisle net.
Any chance United had in the game disappearing just sixty seconds later after a Hindmarch foul on the right. The resultant deep free-kick at the back-post seeing the giant Wigan centre-half outjump Mitchell to head across goal and in from six yards out. The last chance of the game coming one minute from time when a Latics shot from distance flew well over the top of the Carlisle goal.
So the game is all but up for United now in their title challenge, the Blues now needing to win their last three games and hope Walsall lose their remaining match to have any chance of finishing in top spot. Eleven postponements certainly haven't helped a season that should have finished last weekend, and then key injuries, and a suspension, on the final run-in have twisted the knife even further.
The runners-up spot is still there to play for though, and that in itself would be a fantastic achievement for the Blues youngsters over the course of a 27-game season. What kind of a team Carlisle boss Eric Kinder will able to put out in United's next match though, at home to Burnley on Saturday morning, is open to question, infact just finding eleven fit players will be the biggest challenge.
United line-up :
Alex Mitchell, Jonny Blake, Matt Duffy, Matthew Brown, Matthew Wood, Stephen Hindmarch, John Seaton (Michael Dowson 60), Michael Hepplethwaite, Andy Cook, Ryan Bowman (Shaun Law 3), Connor Tinnion (Simon Lakeland 63).
Unused substitute :
John Jamieson (GK).
Fixtures in the division this week, Saturday morning unless stated :
Accrington Stanley 1-1 Preston (Mon, 2pm)
Wigan 2-2 Rochdale (Tue, 6pm)
Carlisle United 1-3 Wigan (Thu, 12noon)
Accrington Stanley v Macclesfield
Carlisle United v Burnley
Morecambe v Tranmere
Preston North End v Bury
Wigan v Rochdale
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