Well where do you start with a game like that, can you remember the last time we took the lead four times away from home and one of the players got a hat-trick because I can’t? All that and up to fifth in the table as well after scoring ten goals in the last two League games, heady times indeed.
Hat-trick hero once again
Onto the match itself and United player-manager Paul Simpson stuck with the same line-up that started the 1-0 defeat to Cheltenham in the first round of the FA Cup the previous Saturday.
That meant a back five of Keiren Westwood in goal with Peter Murphy, Paul Arnison, Danny Livesey and Kevin Gray the defenders in front of him. Making up the midfield were Simon Hackney, Raphael Nade, Chris Lumsdon and Chris Billy whilst Derek Holmes and Karl Hawley were partnered together again in attack.
Torquay included new signing Paul D. Robinson who had scored twice for the Blues in a two month loan spell under the tutelage of Roddy Collins at the end of 2002 before falling out of the Football League pecking order recently.
United were hoping to start well against the side propping up the bottom of the table and they couldn’t have started any better as hitman Hawley gave the Blues the lead after only three minutes.
Hackney’s header reached Holmes and his touch off in turn found Hawley waiting on the shoulder of the last man. While the home defenders appealed in vain for an offside flag United’s top scorer ran in on goal and slotted the ball coolly past Gulls keeper Andy Marriott to put Carlisle 1-0 up.
The Devon outfit came right back into the game though in what proved to be a real end-to-end encounter. Both Robinson and his fellow recent loan signing, Ian Stonebridge, tried mid-range efforts on the Cumbrians goal but neither caused the United defence any great problems.
In the 11th minute Blues right-back Paul Arnison got a rush of blood and tried to lash in a 30-yard effort but like most long-range efforts from a defender it flew well over the Torquay bar.
The Gulls made their little spell of pressure tell though and equalised just two minutes later through the most likely goalscorer of the afternoon in Robinson who bagged the first of his two on the day.
Kevin Hill swung a great ball in to the far-post which one-time Manchester City winger Martin "Buster" Phillips skewed luckily off his left foot straight to the feet of Robinson. The ex-Newcastle man turned and half-volleyed in one motion, sending his shot rocketing into the net and giving Westwood no chance.
It was disappointing for United to concede so quickly after taking the lead but it would be something they would get used to in a topsy-turvy 90 minutes.
In an already remarkable game Carlisle regained their advantage just two minutes after giving it away. It was perhaps the best goal of the seven as the Blues attacked with pace and produced a crisp finish. Holmes laid the ball out to Hackney on the left-wing and the young winger produced a superb cross that was bang on the mark for Hawley to glance a cracking long-range header beyond Marriott and into the net off the inside of the post.
Stonebridge and midfielder Liam Coleman had half-chances for the home side that they failed to do anything with but it was United who nearly scored again as Hawley almost claimed his hat-trick by the 22nd minute.
Billy headed a good ball into the ex-Walsall striker which Hawley controlled well on his chest. From just inside the box he turned his man as the ball dropped and hit rasping shot across the face of Marriott and inches wide.
The Cumbrians were looking very dangerous in this spell and seemed like they might score every time they went forward against a ragged and disorganised Torquay defence.
Shortly afterwards it was Hawley again having at pot-shot at the Gulls goal as he did well to dummy his marker but his effort from 22 yards was pulled wide.
In the 32nd minute it was Robinson who went close for Torquay as the game flowed very quickly. He tried an audacious chip from 20 yards out but as Westwood scrambled back to cover the ball dropped inches over the United bar.
Nine minutes later the Gulls started to put pressure on the Carlisle defence again as Westwood was judged to have carried the ball out of his area as he collected a through ball. The resultant free-kick was well-hit by on-loan Bristol City defender Craig Woodman but it flew straight into the United wall and away to safety.
As the seconds ticked away to half-time Torquay dragged themselves right back into the game when they claimed an equaliser after some poor defending by the Blues. Phillips curled a cross into the box which Stonebridge got a strong flick on to just beyond the penalty spot. Arriving just on time as far as the home side was concerned was Hill who got there completely unchallenged to hammer a header easily past Westwood.
To add insult to injury for the Blues Murphy was booked almost on the interval whistle for a foul on Torquay’s young defender, on-loan from Huddersfield, Anthony Lloyd.
It was an awful time to concede for a side that had already gone ahead twice and were left with nothing to show at the break for their hard work. To the Cumbrians’ credit though they never let their heads drop and kept on playing good football in the second half.
Just three minutes after the interval and this time it was Billy who was to enter Gary Lewis’ notebook. United’s workhorse midfielder brought down Stonebridge and was immediately shown the yellow card by a very inconsistent and poor quality official.
On 55 minutes Hawley tried his luck on goal again but the ball took a deflection off centre-half Craig Taylor and made the shot very easy for Marriott to claim.
Only sixty seconds later and Torquay missed a good opportunity to take the lead as Taylor blazed over from close-range after another good delivery from the corner spot by Phillips.
Shortly afterwards Billy pumped a long-range effort in after a nice Hackney lay-off but Marriott claimed the ball easily as "Ceebs" added a rare shot on target to his record.
In the 64th minute this non-stop encounter got it’s fifth goal of the game and it went to United who took the lead for the third time. Arnison did well to get an excellent cross in from the right by-line to the middle of the Torquay box. Holmes used his size and strength to hold off a challenge from Woods and head the ball down to Hawley on the right edge of the area. Carlisle’s current goal machine hit the ball clean and true through a ruck of players and into the far corner to send the 330 travelling Blues fans into delight as it hit the back of the net.
It was a landmark goal for Hawley as it meant as he had scored two consecutive League hat-tricks for United. A great achievement for the 23 year-old striker as he is the first player to achieve that feat since Jimmy McConnell did it for the Blues in the 1930-31 season.
On that occasion McConnell scored four in a 7-1 home win over Rochdale and then followed that up with three in a 5-3 victory away to Crewe Alexandra. That spell was an amazing one for McConnell as he actually bagged twelve goals in just five matches in a season in which Carlisle scored 98 times and finished eighth in the old Division Three North.
For the final league table from that season follow the link :
1930-31 Division Three North League Table
Remarkably Hawley nearly scored again three minutes later when Marriott twice blocked his effort, the ball eventually running out to the rampaging Billy who struck the ball hard but well over the Torquay bar.
Stonebridge was causing United skipper Gray a few problems as he worked tirelessly for the cause throughout the game. Firstly, Gray put enough pressure on him for the striker to send his attempted chip over Westwood well above the bar and then Carlisle’s centre-half nipped in front of Stonebridge to head a dangerous Phillips cross out for a corner.
Torquay did claim their third equaliser of the game in the 78th minute with a hotly disputed penalty from a United perspective. Woods hammered a shot in from at least 25 yards out which hit Livesey on the arm and flew out for a corner. Referee Lewis saw it differently to the Carlisle players though and decided it was hand to ball as he pointed to the spot. It was a very harsh penalty to give by the official as Livesey seemed to have little chance of getting out of the way of the ball.
A spot-kick it was though and Robinson stepped up to take it. He hit his effort very weakly and Westwood seemed to get there before the ball did. The young keeper got two hands on it but in the middle of his dive the ball came out of his gloves and over his body. Westwood rolled around quickly though and looked to have caught the ball before it crossed the line. The assistant referee was adamant that the it had gone over the line however as he signalled for a goal and from nowhere the scoreline was now 3-3.
That wasn't the end of the scoring as United did everything to claw back their three points that they'd had in the bank three times already. This time it wasn't Hawley who got the goal but defensive talisman Gray.
Murphy whipped in a free-kick from 20 yards out on the left and the ball seemed to take a flick off the wall before landing right to the feet of Gray at the back post. Carlisle's skipper made no mistake as he blasted the ball into the net from almost on the goal-line to grab the lead for United for an amazing fourth time.
Woodman was the first Torquay player to be booked straight after the goal when he complained too vociferously to the official about the awarding of the initial free-kick. Gulls manager Leroy Rosenior also let referee Lewis know his feelings when he charged out of his technical area to remonstrate, all he got was a red card though as he was banished to the stands.
There was still time for Torquay to almost grab yet another leveller in the final minute when Robinson got hold of the ball in a crowded United box. Hearts were in the mouths of the Blue Army as he turned and hit his shot, but fortunately for the Cumbrians his low drive flew inches wide of the post.
Robinson's effort seemed to have taken a deflection on it's way goalwards however and when the referee awarded a goal-kick instead of a corner the yellow card came out again as the Torquay players surrounded the official. Stonebridge and Darren Garner were this time the recipients as they were booked for dissent.
The referee still managed to have the last word in the game even after that by adding on a top-heavy five minutes of injury time. Carlisle got through that spell with little concern though to hang on for one of the more memorable away day victories in their history.
Post-match quotes :
United player-manager Paul Simpson said:
"I don't normally feel sorry for people, because nobody felt sorry for us when we were down, but I do feel a bit sorry for Leroy (Rosenior) and Torquay. Our first goal was maybe offside and we had one or two things go for us, but I thought it was a very harsh penalty against us.