Under-pressure boss Roddy Collins decided to draft Lee Andrews in for Darren Kelly with former skipper Peter Murphy left out and Lee Maddison coming in to replace him at the left back position. Richie Foran and Craig Farrell continued up front. Steve Livingstone was serving the second game of his three-game ban. United settled well and Farrell made an opening before unluckily seeing the ball coming off his heel. Simpson's follow up cross was well claimed by home keeper Paul Bastock. The keeper was called into action again after a back header from Farrell which he was able to tip over to give Carlisle their second corner. Mark Angel then forced Maddison to concede another corner at the other end as the home team tried to make inroads. Angel was proving a threat as his cross found the head of Richard Logan who brought the first save of the day out of Matty Glennon in the 18th minute. A bolt from the blue hit the Cumbrians on 28 minutes as veteran Neil Redfearn collected an Angel pass and swivelled to volley left-footed past Glennon into the left hand corner of the net. It must have come as a shock to the Blues as they had been looking comfortable up to that point. 4 minutes later an Angel cross had Raven in a right old mess as his attempted clearance was miscued but the veteran stopper recovered to block the follow-up chance. Tom Bennett then put in a ball right across the box that just needed a touch. Stuart Douglas then came on to replace Logan who may have collected a knock. As Boston took charge, United's play became disjointed. A clumsy Raven challenge brought the first yellow card on 39 minutes. On the stroke of half time Maddison kicked the ball away daftly and made it 2-0 to United - in the bookings standings. Foran and Ellender clashed in the box in time added on. Both players collected a yellow card. The half-time break brought change as Adam Rundle came on for Shelley as the Cumbrians switched to 3-5-2. Redfearn was in the action again early in the second half. Raven got away with an apparent hand-ball in the box before the veteran Boston playmaker drilled over the bar. Rundle then attempted a speculative effort which just cleared the bar from distance. Youngster Will McDonagh then replaced the 37-year-old Simpson. A loose Summerbell back pass almost brought grief but Glennon nipped out to deny Douglas and concede a corner. From the kick, Glennon was on hand to stop a possible Summerbell own goal. It was becoming one-way traffic as Sutch forced another corner with a shot that Glennon turned away. The bombardment continued as Foran headed off the line and then Summerbell threw himself in the way of a Redfearn shot. With the Cumbrians relieved to still be in the game, Roddy Collins tried his last throw of the dice by substituting Brian Wake for Brendan McGill. Redfearn again initiated a dangerous move as he set up Bennett whose shot just missed the target, beating Glennon but sneaking past the upright. Then Douglas put Maddison in strife and his back pass to Glennon left the keeper struggling. Redfearn collected his clearance but shot wide. United's afternoon turned from bad to worse after 77 minutes as Maddison hauled back Douglas and was given a second booking and an early bath. A Chris Billy left foot shot brought an easy save for Bastock, one of the first stops he had been forced to make in the second period. It was soon up the other end as Redfearn brought two more blocks out of Raven. Then Redfearn fed Duffield who flicked his header just wide. Roddy Collins's afternoon was well and truly complete when he was ordered off by the referee for comments made to the officials. He had to take a long walk in front of home supporters before coming to a halt behind a gate where his view was restricted. As injury time began, the Cumbrians began to exert some late pressure. But Bastock commanded his box to snuff out the last chance. Bennett almost added a second in the dying seconds. Al's verdict: Awful. After an even opening 25 minutes, the usual story took hold. Redfearn's goal was a beauty but as soon as it hit the back of the net, Boston visibly rose in confidence and Carlisle were unable to get out of first gear and were incredibly lucky to survive the onslaught that followed. Compared to recent displays against Yeovil and Bristol Rovers, there were few if any saving graces from this one. Chances weren't created and a relatively poor team saw us off with little difficulty. Redfearn reminded us that a good 'old un can be a great addition to any side with a deserved man of the match performance. In contrast our own 'playmaker' Simpson made little impact and didn't see out the game, replaced by McDonagh. |
