Cold and windy, very cold and windy infact it was at Creighton this morning, although at least the rain did hold off. Three United players didn't have to brave the shorts though with Jamie Clarey and Dan Jones absent from the squad, while the sight of top scorer Alex Salmon making his way across to the sideline on a pair of crutches after tearing his ankle ligaments in training on Thursday was not a good one to behold.
So, with Salmon missing it meant the number ten shirt was handed over to Whitehaven-born Danny Hodgson, the 16-year old, from Carlisle's Centre of Excellence, making his debut at youth team level. It was a strong, particularly physical and older Accrington side that had the first chance of the game though after two minutes when Adam Stockdale fed in Joe Greenhalgh, who will remarkably for a youth teamer be 19 in December, for a 12-yard drive from the right-hand channel that whistled across the face of Jordan Parker's goal and wide of the far-post.
Carlisle got a good move going forward in the eighth minute though, involving Hodgson, Jack Lynch, Mark Beck (pictured) and Brad Potts, with Dave Symington then eventually producing a shot that was very similar to Greenhalgh's earlier effort. Six minutes later and Symington had a 20-yard shot deflected wide off Joe Wilkinson, with Lynch's resultant corner in seeing play go on for a short while before the Blues had a good claim for a penalty turned down by referee Cartmel when Beck seemed to be taken to the floor by Stanley skipper Oliver Holden.
With 21 minutes on the clock the dangerous Marcus Carver hit a right-footed drive from 22 yards out straight into the gloves of Parker, before he did give the visitors the lead two minutes later. Carlisle's Dillon Morse making a mistake at the back as he conceded possession to Carver with the Accrington striker than able to run through and fire home a right-footed shot past Parker from 15 yards out.
Shortly afterwards and Morse was looking to make amends but his eight-yard header from a Lynch corner looped away well wide of Stanley goalkeeper Adam Smith's near-post. it was Accrington again though in the 27th minute but Karl Dailey's right-footed strike from distance only flew a good way off target. Stanley than having a half-chance again in the 32nd minute when a left-footed half-volley from 25 yards out by Jack Willison zoomed across goal and past Parker's left-hand post.
After 34 minutes, and following a Potts foul on Stockdale 40 yards out, Accrington right-back Louis Martini thumped the free-kick up into the Carlisle box, but Dailey was only able to head wide from the middle of the penalty area. The last chance of the half coming as we ticked into injury time when Josh Todd fed in Potts for the Cumbrians, but Potts, a centre-half successfully so far converted into a holding midfielder, smacked his 22-yard right-footed drive wide of Smith's right-hand post.
During the interval Blues boss Eric Kinder made what would end up being his only change in personnel as Hodgson, getting his first taste of a 'senior' level being replaced by another Whitehaven-born 16-year old, in midfielder Kyle Dempsey, with Symington now joining Beck upfront. Six minutes into the second period and the first opportunity for a goal came the way of the visitors, but it was nothing exciting as Ryan Hopper's 20-yard right-footed drive reached the gloves of Parker at a snail's pace.
Carlisle had a little bit of luck on their side though in the 54th minute when they grabbed an equaliser, a long free-kick up from skipper Lance McGlen seeing Symington, at the back-stick, miss a volley with his right leg, only for the ball to ping back off his left leg straight to Beck 15 yards out in the left-hand channel. Beck then producing an excellent finish as under pressure from Holden he fired a cracking low left-footed effort across Smith and into the far corner of the Stanley net.
Accrington were quickly trying to regain the lead though and two minutes later Hopper hit a stronger left-footed half-volley from 20 yards out, but it was still a pretty comfortable one for Parker to hold onto. United though the ones to gain an advantage in the game on 58 minutes when Beck scored his second goal in four minutes, Lynch's deep corner in causing a bit of a melee at the visitors back-stick with Beck then the one able to toe-poke the ball home from close range.
With 65 minutes on the clock Accrington boss Phil Hackney then made a double change in personnel as he brought on Josh Peake for Jack Sargent upfront and Ben Proctor for Greenhalgh in central midfield. It was the only real Stanley dangerman, in Carver, trying to score again midway through the half though, but this time his right-footed drive from 12 yards out in the right-hand channel flashed away narrowly wide of Parker's left-hand post.
Stanley's next chance then came from a corner in the 72nd minute when a Hopper corner in came deep to Holden 15 yards out at the back-stick, the lanky Holden though seeing his right-footed volley from there go vertically straight into orbit on its way about three light years over Parker's crossbar. Accrington, in a good spell of pressure for themselves, then seeing Carver have a shot from the edge of the box well blocked by Brad Staunch, with Hopper then hitting the rebound right-footed but weak and straight at Parker from a similar distance.
It was still Stanley pushing for an equaliser shortly afterwards when a cross in from the left from the burly Proctor saw Willison head wide of Parker's back-stick eight yards out. Up at the other end with 79 minutes gone Symington played in Potts for Carlisle down the right wing, with a low ball in from Potts then finding Lynch steaming through the middle, Lynch then jinking past Holden only to see his right-footed effort on goal ping away from danger off the body of a sprawling Smith.
Two minutes later and Potts challenged strongly for a ball in the air with Smith, and it was the Stanley stopper who came off worse as he had to be substituted with a leg injury, replacement goalkeeper Andrew Dawber now donning the gloves. After 84 minutes it was Beck setting up Symington for a right-footed 18-yard shot over the top, then three minutes later after a heavy spell of United pressure, Dempsey's left-footed shot from the edge of the box was blocked away from the Accrington goal by Wilkinson.
Just we as ticked over into injury time Symington was trying his luck from distance again but his left-footed drive only flew well over the top, then sixty seconds later Carver played in Peake, but Peake's effort on goal with his left boot from the edge of the Carlisle box was an easy one for Parker to save. Potts and Symington then working a one-two into the Accrington penalty area two minutes later for the Blues, but Potts was off target again as his left-footed shot from 15 yards out flew away well wide of Smith's goal.
Carlisle then missed another good chance to make 3-1 shortly afterwards when Lynch got away to the left-hand by-line before cutting the ball back for Todd 12 yards out, Todd perhaps missing the opportunity to take a touch before he lifted his right-footed half-volley well over Smith's crossbar. Todd though did make the final scoreline 3-1 in the fourth minute of injury time when, racing onto a nice Dempsey pass through, he took his time before lifting a little chip over the body of Smith with his right boot and into the far corner of the visitors net from ten yards out.
So, another win for the young Blues, and that now makes it seven victories and just one defeat in their last eight league games. It's cup action from now on for a couple of weeks though, with Sheffield Wednesday at home on Tuesday night in the FA Youth Cup, Bradford City away in the League Cup on Saturday, then on Saturday 12th November it's down to St Bees for a Cumberland Cup tie, plenty of action to come yet then before we hit the winter months.
United line-up :
Jordan Parker, Lance McGlen (c), Dale Minor, Dillon Morse, Brad Staunch, Brad Potts, Josh Todd, Jack Lynch, Mark Beck, Danny Hodgson (Kyle Dempsey 46), Dave Symington.
Unused substitutes :
Tom Berwick, Patrick Brough and Brandon Gwinnutt.
Accrington line-up :
Adam Smith (Andrew Daawber 81), Joe Wilkinson, Louis Martini, Karl Dailey, Oliver Holden (c), Ryan Hopper, Adam Stockdale, Joe Greenhalgh (Ben Proctor 65), Marcus Carver, Jack Sargent (Josh Peake 65), Jack Willison.
Unused substitutes :
Joe Dawson and James Doig.
Referee - W Cartmel.
Assistants - P Murphy and G Lynch.
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Youth Team Table : Click here