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It was the Cumbrians first trip to the City Ground since the 1976-77 season when they were hammered 5-1 in the old Division Two. The monster United away following of 2,491 fans, who roared the Blues on throughout the 90 minutes, were certainly hoping for better than that though as they took to their seats in a packed Bridgford visitors stand, which Carlisle were attacking in the first-half.
The home side came roaring out of the traps though, presumably on the back of an earful from boss Colin Calderwood following the Tricky Trees first defeat of the season at home to Oldham on Tuesday, the Latics travelling back north with a 2-0 victory in the bag. In only the second minute Nicky Southall releasing Carlisle-born pantomime villain Grant Holt, who had been at Brunton Park on trial in the dark days of the Roddy Collins managerial era, down the right, Holt's cross pinging off the thigh of Gray inches over Keiren Westwood's crossbar.
United had their first chance of the match on ten minutes when a nice passing move resulted in Karl Hawley playing in Kevin Gall on the edge of the Forest box. Gall first touch wasn't the best though and it forced him into a rushed shot which was weak at straight at home keeper Paul Smith. The Blues spent a lot of the first-half on the back-foot defending resolutely though as the Reds pushed forward in numbers looking for an early goal.
The home side went close again on eleven minutes when Junior Agogo, signed by Forest from Bristol Rovers for £125,000 in the summer as yet another in the Tricky Trees collection of League Two hotshots, held the ball up before crossing in for Neil Harris. Ex-Millwall man Harris sending a looping header to the Cumbrians back-stick which had Westwood scrambling a bit as he turned the ball around his post.
Zigor Aranalde tried to power a shot across goal into the net from 25 yards out for United sixty seconds later but the Basque left-back could only pull his left-footed effort well wide. Shortly afterwards it was Forest on the attack once more though as Southall flicked the ball over the head of Peter Murphy straight to Grant Holt, Westwood not able to reach the ball as it flew across his goal from 18 yards out in the right-hand channel and out for a Cumbrians goal-kick.
Agogo was the next up to the plate for the home side in the 17th minute as he got on the end of a Harris pass, Agogo's quick shot from a narrow angle being parried behind for a corner by Westwood. Southall stuck the corner in from the right and the Blues were grateful to see Hackney stationed on the near-post as he was able to nod away centre-half Wes Morgan's goalbound six-yard header.
Gray was the number one defender for Carlisle in the 21st minute though when he saved United. Agogo's ball across to Harris 15 yards out on the left saw Harris turn inside Raven back onto his right foot and send a curler beyond the reach of Westwood into the far-top corner, Harris could only hold his head in his hands though as Gray had gone back intelligently to cover and was able to head the ball off the line.
In the 24th minute a corner in by Blues playmaker Chris Lumsdon was cleared out by Forest skipper Ian Breckin straight to Paul Murray, the home penalty area was crowded though and Murray's shot only dribbled straight through to Smith. Shortly afterwards the Reds supporters thought they had taken the lead when Grant Holt pulled away from Murphy as he chased a through ball, Holt hammering a shot into the net past Westwood before realising that the assistant referee had already put his flag up for offside.
The Blues were making chances of their own though and after 27 minutes David Raven sent a cross in from the right which was taken on his thigh towards the Forest by-line by Murray. It was a difficult ball to take at pace however and Murray could only fire a shot with his right-foot straight into Smith's side-netting. Sixty seconds later a foul by Morgan on Hawley saw Aranalde disappointingly hammer the resultant free-kick from 25 yards out right into the middle of the Tricky Trees defensive wall with his left foot.
Agogo broke away sharply down the pitch from Sammy Clingan's hoofed clearance and Murphy had to be on-hand to track back and block Agogo's cross out for a throw-in. Murphy and Agogo were in the thick of the action again bang on the half-hour mark when the home side were awarded a very contentious penalty by the assistant referee, after Agogo had appeared to handle the ball as he controlled it into the Carlisle box. The two players wrestling for possession before Agogo slumped to the ground in front of Murphy, the spot-kick being given after referee Phil Crossley from Bromley in Kent, a late replacement for Richard Beeby, had seen his assistant referee furiously waving his flag.
To add insult to injury Gray was also booked by the official after picking the ball up and wandering off into the distance with it in protest at the decision. It had to be that man Grant Holt to take it didn't it, but the Blue Army shouldn't have had any worries as the Forest man's penalty was utterly dreadful. Westwood guessing correctly and almost diving over the top of the ball as it trickled only inches away from the middle of the goal to the United keeper's left, that penalty failure being Forest's fourth miss of the season.
That wasted chance seemed to deflate the home side a bit while you could see that it gave Carlisle a lot of confidence, United having a good spell of pressure and winning a host of corners around the 40 minute mark. With 41 minutes on the clock Hawley spun on the left-angle of the visitors box and fired in a powerful shot across goal and out for a goal-kick, Gall not being awake enough to the chance to run in on it at the back-post.
Moments later Hawley and Gall did combine well as they put Lumsdon into a good crossing position out on the right, Breckin was alive to the danger though and was able to block away Lumsdon's ball in. With sixty seconds of the three first-half minutes of stoppage time gone Agogo was showing his pace again, all too often though he lacked a good end product and his cross in was all too easy a take for Westwood coming off his line.
The last chance of the opening period came the way of Harris just before the whistle went, the Forest man, playing just behind the front two, trying his luck from range with a shot that, fortunately for United, flew straight into the arms of Westwood. So that was it on a pulsating opening 45 minutes of football in which the Blues had come into the game more as time went on, but the home side had had by far the better chances, especially in Grant Holt's penalty miss.
The massed ranks of the Blue Army at the City Ground, picture taken by "bluetoon"
Raven tried to find his way onto the scoresheet pretty much as soon as the second period started, the ex-Liverpool right-back firing in a 25-yarder in which was relatively easy for Smith to handle. The home side again thought they had taken the lead two minutes after the restart when Harris this time had the ball in the back of the Carlisle net. He'd controlled the pass into the Blues box by Clingan with his hand though and the Cumbrians were able to breath easily once more.
Lumsdon was the one going close to bagging a goal for United this time in the 50th minute, Gall touching the ball on for Raven to get a cross in from the right. Lumsdon rose well above Forest midfielder Gary Holt on the penalty spot but he was unlucky to watch his looping header bounce off the top of Smith's crossbar at the back-post and out for a Reds goal-kick. The Blues were really getting on top in the game now and the 17,046 home fans, out of the total attendance of 19,535, began to go very quiet as the Cumbrians turned the screw.
Forest had some brief respite in the 51st minute when Grant Holt fired into the Carlisle side-netting from a tight angle 12 yards out but it was soon United on the attack again. More good work by Hackney down his favoured left-wing spot seeing a ball fed in to Murray ten yards out, Murray turning sharply and firing goalwards with his left foot, with Smith pushing the ball behind for a corner at his near-post. That leading to another run of flag-kicks for Carlisle, the Blues winning eleven on the day, which, again, the home side did well to clear their lines from.
With 56 minutes gone Murray crossed in well from the left for Hawley but the United striker mis-timed his diving header and could only send it sailing over the Forest woodwork. Three minutes on and it was Agogo with a headed chance for the home side from a Southall free-kick in, conceded by Murray for a foul on Gary Holt. Agogo's connection wasn't the best at the Blues back-post though and Westwood was able to easily pluck the ball out of the air.
Southall was trying to get things going again for Forest as he tried a couple of snap-shots from distance but neither of them looked like troubling the scorers. Just after the hour mark Hawley again held the ball up well under pressure from Morgan, the United man laying the ball off to Hackney down the left. Hackney's cross in was straight to Gall but the first touch was poor from the one-time Wales under-21 player and the chance was gone.
The United connection for the Reds hit home after 63 minutes when ex-Blue Scott Dobie came on to replace Carlisle-born Grant Holt. Sixty seconds later Raven was flattened by a bad tackle in the midfield from James Perch, referee Crossley amazingly waving on despite the foul that seemed obvious to everyone but him. The home side getting a chance out of it when Clingan crossed in to the Carlisle far-post, only for Southall to hit a 12-yard volley straight into the grateful arms of Westwood.
Gary Holt tried a right-footed curler from 22 yards out on 66 minutes, after the ball was set back to him by Southall, but the ball skimmed off the roof of the United net and into the massed ranks of travelling Blues. That stoppage in play, seeing Raven, who was already struggling with a groin problem before Perch caught his ankle, hobble off the field to be replaced by last season's number one choice in the right-back spot, Paul Arnison.
Yet another chance came and went for the Cumbrians with just 20 minutes to go when Lumsdon sent Gall away down the right-hand channel. Gall sending a pacey low ball in across goal, which Paul Murray, sliding in, was literally inches away from pushing into an unguarded net at the Forest far-post. Aranalde and Hackney tried to keep the pressure on but Breckin got the ball away and it was Carlisle who ended up having to defend as Agogo looked to get away on the break, Murphy soon averting the danger however.
After 74 minutes Hawley worked his way around Morgan but the United man had to shoot from a tight angle with his right foot 12 yards out and Smith was able to parry his powerful effort away with two strong hands. The seemingly big opportunity for the Cumbrians to take all three points away with them came on 78 minutes though when Hawley played a ball into the run of an overlapping Gall 12 yards out down the right-hand channel. Gall's effort had plenty of power but it whistled inches past the Forest far-post with Smith well beaten, Blues players and fans alike holding their head in their hands in disbelief.
Six minutes later Murray shot left-footed from 20 yards out as Carlisle kept pouring forward but it was well blocked by Breckin. Clingan going for the same idea at the other end in a rare Forest second-half attack, but his right-footed effort flew well over Westwood's crossbar. That was the signal for Tricky Trees boss Colin Calderwood to make an 85th minute double substitution as he brought on John Thompson for Gary Holt and Jack Lester for Harris. United manager Neil McDonald responding at the same time by replacing the hard-working Murray with Billy in central midfield.
Lester's first involvement of the match was hardly what your team wants though as he was yellow-carded on 88 minutes for taking a theatrical dive in the Cumbrians penalty area over the outstretched leg of Murphy. Agogo was the next player trying to win a second penalty of the day for the home side as the clock ticked into injury time, the Forest forward going down in a challenge with Arnison, referee Crossley waving away the appeals this time.
The last chance of an enthralling encounter came the way of the Blues three minutes into what was supposed to be four minutes of time added on, only to end up being just short of six minutes. Carlisle earning a free-kick slap bang in the middle 22 yards out after Billy had been brought down by Bennett, the Forest man being booked for his rash challenge. Murphy stepped up to hit a low left-footed shot towards the bottom corner but Morgan had cleverly tracked back to cover that angle and was able to hack the ball behind. Neither that flag-kick, or another resultant Lumsdon corner seeing anything come from it as the final whistle was blown on what was certainly one of the better 0-0 draws you will see, and the first goalless encounter for Forest at the City Ground since New Year's Eve 2005.
Post-match quotes :
Carlisle manager Neil McDonald revealed he is searching for a striker to bolster his front line but he had no complaints with his side's performance :