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Carlisle 3, Posh 3 - Rousing revival earns a point
FORGET Brunton Park – this roller-coaster ride of a football match should have been staged at Alton Towers.
FORGET Brunton Park – this roller-coaster ride of a football match should have been staged at Alton Towers.Sloppy defending, wasteful finishing, an almighty goalkeeping howler, missed chances galore – and that was just Posh on an afternoon where the basics of footballing success went out of the window.
A shock defeat against a team that had lost their previous six competitive matches appeared on the cards when Darren Ferguson's men crumbled early in the second half.
But they produced a rousing revival to snatch a late draw courtesy of Craig Mackail-Smith's 93rd minute life-saver.
While this six-goal thriller didn't quite rival the city side's infamous 5-4 victory over Bristol Rovers earlier in the season on the entertainment scale, it did ensure nails were chewed to the quick.
Fergie and co. have created a smashing form of the beautiful game, but you never quite know what to expect.
Would it be the side that came back from the dead at MK Dons? The team that soaked up stacks of pressure and saw off mighty Leeds? The outfit that struck early and hard at Walsall?
Or, as it turned out, none of above.
This was an all-action (not all of it good) performance from a group of players that battled to the bitter end to salvage a share of the spoils.
While being found wanting at both ends of the pitch is hardly a recommended way of achieving success or pleasing Ferguson, Posh still did more than enough to deserve maximum points.
Countless chances went begging and no-one was more guilty than Mackail-Smith whose second-half brace was the highlight of a performance that featured plenty more poor misses.
Among the other negatives were a seriously sluggish start in which they could have found themselves cast adrift.
Only a smashing one-on-one Lewis save to deny Danny Graham prevented Posh from falling behind in the third minute after Micah Hyde had tamely surrendered possession – and the visitors goal was soon under threat again when Martin had to hack a Danny Livesey header off the line,
But they were warnings Posh failed to heed and Carlisle finally did go in front in the 20th minute. Admittedly there was a hint of offside about Graham's tidy 10-yard finish after he collected a chest down from strike partner Danny Carlton, but not even those wearing the most Posh-tinted spectacles could argue that it wasn't deserved.
Thankfully it gave Posh a kick up the backside. Twenty nine minutes had passed before George Boyd warmed debutant Ben Alnwick's palms and soon after the Carlisle keeper was picking the ball out of his net after Charlie Lee had stooped to head home Martin's corner.
And one goal should have been followed by another as Gaby Zakuani could only head a rebound over after Boyd had danced into the area and forced Alnwick into a smart save.
Mackail-Smith should have fired Posh ahead early in the second period in what proved to be one of the defining moments of the match. He steered a great chance wide with only Alwnick to beat after an exquisite Boyd pass.
Posh were soon made to pay. Lewis failed to hold a low Simon Hackney shot and Graham pounced to prod into the empty net. And it rapidly got worse as the excellent Graham Kavanagh tidily finished from 15 yards after Lewis had saved from Cleveland Taylor.
That sorry double-salvo prompted a major Posh reshuffle with Craig Morgan and Shane Blackett introduced at the expense of the disappointing Micah Hyde and Tom Williams.
Lee was ordered into midfield and soon after the arrival of Aaron Mclean for the largely ineffective Chris Whelpdale completed the makeover.
And it brought immediate success as eagle-eyed official Andy Taylor clocked Evan Horwood's foolish swipe of the ball with an arm and awarded Posh a penalty which Mackail-Smith gratefully accepted and powerfully converted.
That left Carlisle looking more vulnerable than New Orleans in hurricane season but more by luck than judgement, a rickety home defence somehow stood up to some serious Posh storm.
The hosts had no answer to some brilliant Boyd probing, but Mackail-Smith and co. couldn't find a way to beat the immense Alnwick – and even when he was beaten, Mclean's clever daisy-cutter rolled agonisingly wide.
Mackail-Smith saw a goal rightly ruled out for offside before substitute Gary Madine was inches away from a fourth Carlisle goal with his first touch after being picked out by Kavanagh.
The match was soured when Blackett again dislocated his troublesome right shoulder and left on a stretcher with the clock already well past 90 minutes.
The 10 remaining Posh men no doubt eased some of the pain when clawing themselves level with a goal that triggered a huge sigh of relief.
NEXT PAGE: Match facts and the ratingsMatch facts
CARLISLE 3
Graham (20 mins and 50 mins), Kavanagh (52 mins)
POSH 3
Lee (34 mins), Mackail-Smith (60 mins and 93mins)
Attendance: 6074.
Referee: Andy Taylor 5.
CARLISLE RATINGS
Ben Alnwick 8
David Raven 6
Danny Livesey 6
Richard Keogh 6
Evan Horwood 5
Cleveland Taylor 6
Luke Joyce 7
Graham Kavanagh 8
Simon Hackney 6
Danny Carlton 6
Danny Graham 7
Subs:
Jennison Myrie-Williams (for Taylor 85)
Gary Madine (for Graham 80)
Jeff Smith (for Carlton 72)
Ben Williams
Josh Gowling
Yellow cards:
Carlisle – Horwood (foul), Keogh (foul). Posh – Boyd (foul), Lee (foul).
The ratings
Joe Lewis 6
Blotted otherwise exemplary copybook with howler for Carlisle's second goal
Russell Martin 7
Solid defensively and always an attacking threat with good delivery
Charlie Lee 8 (Star man)
Goal capped strong display in two positions
Gaby Zakuani 6
Does the basics of defending well, not the greatest in possesion
Tommy Williams 6
Couple of dangerous attacking moments but withdrawn early in the second half
Chris Whelpdale 5
Rarely able to influence game from right flank before being sacrificed
Paul Coutts 6
Battled hard despite looking out on his feet last 20 minutes
Micah Hyde 5
Passed poorly and dispossessed too often during shaky display
George Boyd 8
Regularly unlocked the Carlisle defence with effortless ease. Class act
Shaun Batt 5
Not as effective as in recent games. Tried on both flanks and up front
Craig Mackail-Smith 7
Failed to convert golden chances but bagged vital leveller
Substitutes
Shane Blackett (for Williams) Sound return came at a cost 6; Craig Morgan (for Hyde) Added assurance to a rocking defence 7; Aaron Mclean (for Whelpdale) Agonisingly close to a goal, laid on late leveller 6. Not used: James McKeown and Dominic Green.
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