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With injuries and illness ravaging Carlisle's campaign on the home stretch the situation was no better this morning with central midfielder Matthew Wood playing alongside left-back Matt Duffy in the middle of the back four. The rest of the Blues defensive line being made up by central midfielder Jonny Blake at right-back and under-15s left-back Steven Swinglehurst.
I've no idea of what strength of a side the Clarets were able to field at this time of the campaign, but it's not hard to see where a club reputedly making losses in the millions could make cutbacks given that they saw the need to bring 28 players and coaches to an end of season youth team league game.
The contingent was led by Terry Pashley, who, every time I've seen him with Burnley, barks wild instructions at his players for 90 minutes, it must get to the stage where his lads turn a deaf ear to it after a while. Every side needs some coaching from the sidelines but doing it non-stop and shouting at his players what to do every single time they have the ball seems a bit pointless to me, just let the lads play rather than putting so much unrequired pressure on them.
Anyway, the match itself, as daft as it sounds the game being one of few clear-cut chances in poor conditions, erm, apart from the six goals. The first shot of the game coming after five minutes from 20 yards out by a Burnley player that flew straight into the gloves of Blues goalkeeper Alex Mitchell.
Blake and Michael Hepplethwaite both showed good skill on the ball two minutes later to feed a pass into the run of Cook just outside the box. Cook was unable to get the ball out of his feet though and his toe-poked effort was an easy save for the Clarets keeper. The next chance coming the way of the visitors in the 14th minute, when a strong run down the middle only resulted in a poor right-footed drive wide from 15 yards out.
Swinglehurst had a very impressive debut way above his age level, although pretty much his only mistake of the game in the 17th minute saw Burnley work a shooting chance from the Carlisle 'D' which saw Mitchell make a simple stop. Six minutes later a Blake foul, 22 yards out in the left-hand channel meant a right-footed free-kick came over the United defensive wall to be caught by Mitchell at his back-post.
After being under a bit of pressure the Blues took the lead though four minutes later when a lovely diagonal Cook pass found Connor Tinnion running clear into the left-hand side of the Burnley box. Tinnion coolly slotting a left-footed shot from there under the dive of the Clarets goalkeeper and into the back of the net.
Then, as I'd only just finished writing that goal down, I looked up to see a Burnley midfielder equalise with a 22-yard right-footed drive across Mitchell and into the far corner of United's goal, that 1-0 lead didn't last long then. Tinnion almost keeping the scoring glut going just after the half-hour mark, when from a long Mitchell goal-kick and a Cook flick-on, he found himself in the same position, this time though the Clarets keeper did well to block his left-footed drive over the top.
The last real chance for either side to find another goal before the break coming in the 37th minute when, what looked like a Blake back-pass to me in all honesty, was picked up by Mitchell on his six-yard line. The resultant indirect free-kick, with 11 Carlisle players on the line, seeing the ball touched off for a shot, the Burnley left-winger though somehow lifting his effort over the bar when that seemed almost impossible.
James Wood, one of United's first-year YTS intake for next season after being released from Middlesbrough's under-16s, had been called into action due to the lack of bodies, and he, after playing right-midfield in the first-half, swapped places with Blake during the break. The Clarets though were still pressing and almost straight from the kick-off a right-footed shot from distance flew across goal and wide of Mitchell's far-post.
Shortly afterwards, following a Swinglehurst foul 30 yards out on the left, a free-kick came into the Carlisle box which saw a Burnley man head wide from eight yards out. The visitors did make it 2-1 though with 54 minutes gone, when a left-footed corner sliced viciously on the wind over the top of Mitchell and right into the postage stamp part of the United goal at the far-post.
Both sides making a substitution in their forward ranks before the kick-off, United's change seeing Ryan Bowman coming on for Hepplethwaite, Michael Dowson then being replaced by Simon Lakeland in the Carlisle engine room just two minutes later. The game going through a quieter patch now as both sides got to grips with their new personnel.
Blues skipper Stephen Hindmarch and Duffy did their best to play themselves into trouble after 63 minutes when a lack of putting their foot through the ball forced Swinglehurst to make an excellent last-ditch tackle on a Burnley player eight yards out in front of goal just as the Claret looked to have the net at his mercy.
Carlisle made it 2-2 though just sixty seconds later and it was Swinglehurst involved at the other end, this time after a knock down his flank from Lakeland. Swinglehurst sending a lovely left-footed centre right across the Burnley six-yard line, with Cook seemingly getting there first to meet the cross with his right boot, only to see his effort half-saved by the keeper, and in a posse of bodies at the back-post it looked like Bowman who was able to bundle the ball over the line.
Three minutes later Carlisle made their final change when Wood, who made a solid debut, was replaced by under-16s captain Shaun Law. With 69 minutes on the clock United took the lead again when they made it 3-2, Hindmarch's ball down the right-hand channel seeing Law cross low into the Burnley box. Cook then touching the ball off to Bowman 15 yards out who thumped a 15-yard right-footed effort under the body of the Clarets keeper and into the back of the net.
Burnley were pressing again though after 72 minutes when a corner from their left-winger, who put in a good delivery all game, was headed wide of the far-post by a Claret stationed almost on the angle of the six-yard box and by-line. Mitchell being forced into an excellent one-handed save ten minutes later as he palmed away a 22-yard right-footed shot from his top corner.
Three minutes from time and Tinnion was fouled 25 yards out to the left of the Burnley 'D', Cook stepping up to take the set-piece right-footed only to hammer it straight into the Clarets defensive wall. Then, despite neither physiotherapist being on the pitch at any stage, three minutes of injury time magically appeared from nowhere.
And it was in the final second of those three minutes that a right-footed shot by a Burnley midfielder from 25 yards out flew slap bang into the top left-hand corner of Mitchell's net. The final whistle then, rather annoyingly, going the very second the young Blues kicked the game back off. Carlisle's next chance for a win in this seemingly never-ending season coming next Wednesday night at Morecambe's Christie Park in a 7pm kick-off.
United line-up :
Alex Mitchell, Jonny Blake, Steven Swinglehurst, Matt Duffy, Matthew Wood, Michael Dowson (Simon Lakeland 56), James Wood (Shaun Law 67), Stephen Hindmarch (c), Andy Cook, Michael Hepplethwaite (Ryan Bowman 54), Connor Tinnion.
Unused substitutes :
John Jamieson (GK) and Matthew Brown.
Results 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 0-3 Macclesfield
Carlisle United 3-3 Burnley
Morecambe 0-0 Tranmere
Preston North End 2-0 Bury
Wigan 5-0 Rochdale
Fixtures in the division next week, Saturday morning unless stated :
Rochdale v Preston (Mon, 2pm)
Accrington Stanley v Tranmere (Wed, 2pm)
Burnley v Port Vale (Wed, 2pm)
Morecambe v Carlisle United (Wed, 7pm)
Preston v Wigan (Wed, 2pm)
Accrington Stanley v Wigan
Bury v Burnley
Carlisle United v Preston
Oldham v Walsall
Port Vale v Morecambe
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