Roddy Collins was forced into a reshuffle because of injuries to Jonny Allan and Brendan McGill. He switched to 5-3-2, with Mark Birch and Peter Murphy pushing up as wing-backs and Dave Rogers coming into central defence alongside Lee Andrews and Mark Winstanley. Stuart Whitehead was drafted into midfield. The sight of Paul Alcock walking out with the matchball must have sent a shiver down the spines of the 200 or so United fans who had made the journey down. It was Mr Alcock who infamously sent off three Carlisle players in just nine minutes of last season's game at Scunthorpe. Emmerson Boyce headed over after four minutes for the Hatters, the first attack of any menace. Luton were pushing forward and more pressure was put on the Carlisle goal. Several shots were blocked as United were pinned back inside their own half. On 18 minutes Boyce fired over the top of the cross-bar after cutting inside from the by-line. Ahmet Brkovic caught Murphy late and was booked. Within a minute Jean-Louis Valois and Dean Crowe combined to slice through the United defence but Crowe fired wide of the left-hand post when a goal was definitely on. Valois delivered a dangerous corner on 25 minutes but Steve Howard glanced his header narrowly wide. The first recognisable effort on goal from United came from Peter Murphy after 26 minutes. On 30 minutes United some how survived when one effort was blocked and from the follow-up volley by Valois, Stu Green headed off the line. On 36 minutes came a dramatic development as United thought they had grabbed the lead. Luton made a bad mistake with a poor clearance and from the resulting cross in Soley was on the end of it to find the back of the net. Amid widespread confusion, the goal was disallowed for off-side. A celebrating United fan was even chucked out of the ground. Stevens produced a useful shot on the turn and Mark Ovendale saved. Carlisle suddenly looked a lot more menacing and the home team were losing their composure. Joe Kinnear was spoken to at length by Alcock and close to half-time there was a bit of a fracas which ended eventually with Soley going into the book. Goalless at half-time. United earned an early free-kick in the second half but Green's low drive was clung on to by Ovendale. Immediately Matthew Spring missed the chance of the match for the Hatters, firing wide with the goal at his mercy. On 51 minutes Soley finally did get his goal. A corner was headed straight up into the air, Winstanley headed on and there was Soley, on hand to bundle the ball over the line. There was no denying him this time. Birch went off after 56 minutes and was replaced by Tony Hopper, making a rare appearance. This allowed a switch back to Roddy's cosy 4-4-2. A Kevin Nicholls shot following a clever one-two was inches wide of the post with Keen beaten. Luton drew level on 68 minutes as a free-kick wasn't cleared effectively and Russ Perrett was on hand to nod home. The goal prompted another change, with Stevens off and Halliday on. Rogers went into the book for a clumsy foul on Howard, just outside the box. Matthew Taylor's free kick was blocked, Taylor followed up with a cross in and sub Adrian Forbes's header was claimed by Keen. Green made another great last-ditch clearance to deny the home side with 12 minutes remaining. Keen then made a brilliant save to deny the impressive Frenchman Valois after a good link-up with Taylor. Immediately from the corner Luton hit the bar. It was like the Alamo. As the game went into injury time, United needed more last-ditch defending inside their penalty area. Keen even totally missed a corner kick in the dying seconds but the final whistle followed soon after to bring much relief. Al's verdict: A great point when you consider the balance of play, which was very much in Luton's favour. Apart from a short spell either side of half-time, we were under the cosh and rode our luck a little but Keen once again produced a fantastic display and our defending was heroic. The fact that most of Cumbria thought we had gone in at half-time a goal up can be put down to perhaps the most comical commentating error ever made by Derek Lacey. Apart from that, it was an action-packed game, the second one inside a week and a very satisfying outcome indeed. |
