On Saturday, Mark Hughes’ side got their National League campaign off the perfect start with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Woking. Goals from Luke Armstrong and Ethan Robson were the difference on the day.
Today, I’m going to be writing about four things we learned from the game, what Carlisle done well and what the things we’ve learned do for the Cumbrians going forward.
Strength In Depth
The options on the bench on Saturday and the players that were missing from the squad as well shows that Mark Hughes has some serious depth and options in his squad for what is going to a long and hard fought season.
Having options like Georgie Kelly, Stephen Wearne and Ethan Robson to come off the bench and impact the game like they did shows that the players aren’t disappointed to miss out on the starting eleven and that they are ready to go when called upon.
There are still players like Josh Grant and Morgan Feeney who aren’t fit yet to come in to the squad plus fully fit players left out of the squad like Junior Luamba and Cedwyn Scott.
Jack Ellis Man Of The Match
Archie Davies might have been a lot of people’s first choice to start this game at right-back but Jack Ellis was comfortably the best player on the pitch on Saturday and has made that position his now. Davies is a great option to have and will be used but for me Ellis is now the first choice in that position.
Ellis was defensively solid, dropped in to midfield at times to create an extra man in there, he passed the ball well and got the assist for Luke Armstrong with an outstanding through ball.
Harvey Macadam In Midfield
The latest addition to Mark Hughes’ Carlisle United squad started the game very well. The 24-year-old was pressing high up the pitch and won the ball back a couple of times in dangerous areas and it lead to chances for the attackers.
The former Morecambe man done the dirty side of the game well and broke the play down, recycled the ball and was a great partner for Callum Whelan in the middle of the pitch.
Macadam did fade in the second half but Mark Hughes said in his post-match interview that with more game time he will be an important player for the blues and I can see why after Saturday.
Luke Armstrong On Form
I have spoken about Luke Armstrong a lot recently because I openly said a year or so ago that he was getting a lot of unfair criticism and I think this season under Mark Hughes could be a huge season for him.
He looked like a different player to the one we’d seen previously in a Carlisle Shirt. He was pressing well and high up the pitch, he held the ball up well, he linked up with Linney very well and both created chances for themselves and each other.
Armstrong took his goal with strikers instinct and should have had another if the Woking goalkeeper didn’t kick him in the head. The strike force of Linney and Armstrong looked very lively and will cause National League defences lots of trouble this season.
A Message From Paddock Perception
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