The Shrimpers' 2-1 victory puts the Essex side well clear of the drop zone but leaves United with a mountain to climb and only seven games in which to do it. Referee Mason and his assistants needed protection during and after the game from home fans bitter about the two Southend goals, the first of which looked suspiciously offside and the second given for handball which appeared completely accidental. A Craig Farrell shot on 86 minutes gave Carlisle late hope, but it was to no avail. A large crowd of 6,173 came in hope of seeing United build on their great midweek success at Scunthorpe. It was the home side who settled the quicker and had two early sights of goal. Farrell had two efforts, one just wide and one tipped over as the Cumbrians looked menacing. But after that promising opening burst, the visitors began to assume some control in midfield and dominated most of the remainder of the half. A Kevin Maher shot flew just over and a Bentley header floated over the cross-bar as Carlisle struggled to keep the visitors out. Winger Brendan McGill was increasingly isolated in the right back position with Lee Andrews sucked into the centre. Duffield fired a low cross just out of the reach of supporting players and Kelvin Langmead pulled a shot well wide when even better placed. Langmead managed a shot on 31 minutes but it went well wide. The Cumbrians then suffered another cruel injury blow on 36 minutes when Chris Billy contested a ball near the Paddock touchline and went down limping badly. It seemed to be a hamstring tear and he was immediately stretchered off with Paul Arnison coming on. Carlisle went in at half-time having clawed their way back into the game a bit but still looking unbalanced and off form. The second half again saw United start the more threateningly and Peter Duffield had a long range effort comfortably held by keeper Flahaven. Once again though the Shrimpers began to get a grip. Leon Constatine got through a square defence to lob Glennon but the ball just cleared the cross bar when a goal looked odds-on. United's let off was brief. The same player strode through a large gap in the defence a few minutes later but looking offside nonetheless. The linesman kept his flag down and Constantine went on to drive low and firm with his right foot past Glennon's outstretched right hand. With the vitriol of the crowd now aimed squarely at the linesman, each and every decision that went against Carlisle brought a chorus of boos and the game began to boil over. United's attack had completely petered out now and Simpson knew a change had to be made. So off came Duffield and on came Preece. However the next significant moment brought Southend's killer second goal. A free kick was awarded against Murphy for a trip 25 yards out. The free kick was struck hard by Mark Bentley and appeared to hit a Carlisle hand accidentally. However Mason had other ideas and pointed to the spot. He was swamped by irate home players incensed that a third consecutive penalty in seven days had been awarded against the Blues. Constantine strode up and beat Glennon but the kick was ordered to be retaken, apparently for encroachment. Constantine scored again and this time it counted. With Carlisle now fired up and aggressive there was more aggro near the centre circle which led to the booking of Neil Jenkins for a foul on Andrews. The anger amongst the supporters spilled over into trouble in the East Stand but the home side at least continued to make a game of it and pushed more men forward. They were finally rewarded four minutes from time when Farrell found a bit of space 10 yards out and drilled a hard shot just inside Flahaven's near post to pull one back. Roared on by the crowd, United threw everyone forward in the closing minutes, including goalkeeper Matty Glennon but time ran out on them as relegation loomed ever closer. Al's verdict: Our first home defeat in four months makes the drop even more likely. We've got to hope for a collapse from either Rochdale or York and that we can recover from this poor display quickly, like we did after Rochdale. The old adage 'never change a winning team' was held to by Simmo, but I would have brought back Arnison and Preece personally. I didn't feel the team that won at Scunthorpe was necessarily our strongest available and you really need your best, most experienced players out there when the chips are down. It was too little too late when we finally started playing as we have done in recent months. True the referee and linesman made it doubly difficult for us but we didn't do enough to deserve any points from this game and that is the bottom line. |
