Shorn of Andy Preece, and with Peter Murphy, Brian Shelley and Kevin Gray all still missing, the Cumbrians appeared disjointed throughout a torpid encounter in which the visitors began to grow in belief during a second half fightback. Paul Simpson kept faith with Karl Hawley and paired him with Magno Vieira up front, leaving Glenn Murray and Kevin Henderson on the bench. Returning left back Tom Cowan had the first effort of note in the fifth minute but Fleet keeper James Pullen got well behind his 30-yard piledriver. The pitch was cutting up a lot on a cold and rather damp afternoon although the groundstaff had done a wonderful job to get it playable. Consequently any constructive football was difficult and the game degenerated into a series of free kicks and throw ins. Karl Hawley tried to get in behind the visitors defence but Pullen was quickly off his line to clear following a through ball by Mark Tierney. Roy Essandoh managed the visitors first real effort on 32 minutes but Matty Glennon made a save from his shot after a cross from Justin Skinner. It was looking like a desperately poor first half performance until suddenly everything changed in the space of two minutes. Firstly on 39 minutes a Lumsdon cross was defended desperately by Gravesend until the ball spun across the goal for the onrushing Cowan to stab home a scrappy goal from two yards. Barely had the visitors had a chance to respond when United doubled their lead. Lumsdon put the ball in from the left wing and Danny Livesey rose to flick on the ball into the top corner, his second goal for the Blues. The interval thus brought a somewhat undeserved advantage for a Carlisle side who had been lacking in invention and reliant to a great extent on the pace of Magno Vieira to unsettle a wobbly-looking defence. Adam Lovell came on for the Fleet at the break, a switch that brought dividends for debut manager Liam Daish. Far from inspiring United, the two-goal cushion seemed to inspire the side from Kent to up their effort. The pitch still made passing football difficult, with a half-time downpour adding to the depth of puddles by the sides of the pitch, a grim reminder of the 8-foot floods of five weeks ago. Nine minutes in Livesey was fouled outside the box but Lumsdon's radar was awry and his shot was way over the bar. The first tactical switch from Simpson came on 62 minutes as Vieira was replaced by Glenn Murray, possibly to avoid a sending off after the Brazilian had been needlessly booked earlier in the half. However four minutes later it was Gravesend's turn to celebrate as they shockingly pulled a goal back. Lee Protheroe's pass was collected by Lovell who drilled in a powerful left footed shot off the underside of the cross bar and into the net past a despairing Glennon. It was a bolt from the blue as the visitors had shown little real attacking instinct but it visibly raised their confidence levels. Eight minutes later they pulled level. Again it was Protheroe's ball in which caught the Cumbrians flat-footed and Jay Saunders stuck out a boot to turn the ball home into the corner. This was the cue for large numbers of fans to head for the exits. However a largely insipid afternoon was just getting warmed up. Glenn Murray thought he had put Carlisle back in front shortly after only to be caught offside. Pacy Manny Omoyinmi was giving United's defence some problems and Lee Andrews struggled at times to cope at right-back. Andrew Drury and Mark Tierney were booked following a clash that precipitated a mass brawl. In the closing seconds Lovell was booked for time wasting as tempers flared and the crowd lambasted the hapless officials. A chorus of boos greeted the final whistle. Al's verdict: Our season just goes from bad to worse. We seem to be a shadow of our former selves although it's hard to believe we were hammering Barnet just seven days ago. They say a poor pitch is a great leveller but frankly both teams looked decidedly ordinary today. Gravesend looked every inch a team short on confidence who had won just 1 in 17 coming in. We gave them hope with our poor second half display in which we conceded a two-goal advantage for the second home league game in succession. The one exception to the general lethargy was Tom Cowan who looked keener and fitter than the rest and he has been out of the team for something like 8 weeks! Things can only get better - and judging by the tightness of the Conference table tonight - they must! |
