The conditions at kick-off were not good with persistent drizzle. Jon McCarthy came in to make his debut after signing from the home team during the week. Richie Foran was back after suspension to partner the in-form Craig Farrell. With Darren Kelly banned, Michael Taylor came back in alongside Peter Murphy. The Cumbrians brought an estimated 1,000-plus with them, the majority getting wet in the entirely open away end. Within seconds City almost snatched the lead when McCarthy made an immediate mistake but York strayed offside as a shot came in which went over the bar. John Parkin made a robust challenge on Summerbell as the game started at a frantic pace which was not too surprising given the tricky conditions. Parkin tried an ambitious effort from 40 yards out after 10 minutes but the ball cleared the bar by a small margin, which was a relief for Matty Glennon who appeared to be beaten. Foran forced Alan Fettis into a good low save after a cross aimed at the feet of the approaching Farrell. Glennon had to ride to the rescue in the 24th minute when he made a good save to turn away a cross-shot from Michael Reddy who got free on the edge of the box, conceding a corner. Carlisle came very close to breaking the deadlock on 32 minutes when Farrell set up Foran but Fettis made a top save. It looked like Carlisle might be getting on top as Farrell also went close but within a few minutes hearts were in mouths when Murphy made an inch-perfect tackle to deny Peter Duffield inside the box. On 40 minutes a Darren Edmondson cross eluded McCarthy and a lurking Duffield should have done better than miss the target from 15 yards out. Edmondson was involved again 3 minutes later when he combined with Reddy who twisted and turned effectively inside the box and finished with aplomb. It was a bad time to concede a goal, with half-time just moments away. Early in the second half City went close when Lee Nogan fired over the bar. Lee Maddison went into the book for a mistimed challenge giving York a free kick. Reddy appeared to floor Richie Foran with a punch as he stood near the far post but neither referee or linesmen gave anything. From the kick Graham Potter fired over. Foran continued the dialogue for some minutes with the officials, clearly aggrieved. The Foran incident was unsettling other United players and Mark Summerbell went into the book. Reddy managed to get the better of Shelley on 58 minutes but badly fluffed his shot, giving Glennon an easy save. Maddison was sacrificed as Paul Robinson came on after 61 minutes. Robinson's first contribution was a good right-footed effort that Fettis watched all the way and made a good save. On 68 minutes Foran crossed in and Robinson hooked the ball over when a goal beckoned. Robinson made up for his miss with 18 minutes remaining when he forced the ball home to equalise. It was just reward for several minutes of sustained pressure. Reddy then slipped past Taylor to force a corner. From the kick, the ball was half-headed out by Foran and Duffield got to it first to hook home and restore the home advantage. A cruel blow for United who had been getting well on top. Reddy then got totally free of the defence after Murphy fell over to hit the post and from the rebound ex-United hero Edmondson struck the bar. The home defence made a mistake allowing Farrell in but the keeper recovered in time to make a good block. Then Murphy tried a repeat of his free kick last week but Fettis turned his curling effort away for a corner. Into injury time Reddy was announced as man of the match, and seconds later the whistle went to signal United's second straight 2-1 defeat. Al's verdict: A real shame after battling back into the game that we failed to deal with a corner and missed out on at least a point. Performances are improving all the time but it takes time to turn close matches like these in your favour, something we are still learning to do. Robinson showed he had a bit of class with a good equaliser after missing a sitter and Glennon made some good first half saves but on the second half display we were certainly worthy of a point. |
