Carlisle United bounced back from consecutive defeats with a solid 3-1 win over a battling Hartlepool side, Jermaine Francis’ goal cancelled out Cameron Harper’s opener before goals from Georgie Kelly and Morgan Feeney gave the hosts all 3 points.
Carlisle were coming into this game licking their wounds after being comfortably beaten by fellow heavy hitters York City and Rochdale and their woes almost resurfaced immediately as Hartlepool caught their hosts napping in the opening minute as a superb ball from Jay Benn cut United’s defence to ribbons and found Jermaine Francis through on goal, but Gabe Breeze was alert and was able to quickly smother the huge chance.
The Pools came into this game on the back of a run of just one win in their previous eight outings and were fearing that run would be extended just moments later as Regan Linney pulled off a superb dummy to round Maxim Kouogun on the left flank before cutting the ball back to the onrushing Cameron Harper, who curled an excellent first time effort into the far side just past the glove of Harvey Cartwright in the Hartlepool goal to give Mark Hughes’ side an early lead and marking his 50th appearance for the club with a goal.
Carlisle were looking to reaffirm themselves as challengers at the top end of the table and threatened the visitors moments later as Linney roamed inside before picking the ball up just outside the area and drove a low effort just past the left hand post.
Simon Grayson’s side had struggled for goals in recent weeks but looked threatening going forward in the early stages and almost found another way in in the 10th minute as Luke Charman got in down the left flank but was quickly snuffed out by the retreating Bevis Mugabi, a challenge that left Mugabi with what looked like a pulled muscle, leading to an early change in the United defence as he was replaced by Morgan Feeney.
Carlisle didn’t let this change disrupt them however and should have doubled their lead as the ever dangerous Linney fired in a cross from the left wing to the back post and found Georgie Kelly in an excellent position but he couldn’t get enough contact on the header and somehow glanced the ball wide of the post.
The Cumbrians were well on top in the opening 25 minutes or so of the game, controlling possession while Linney remained a constant threat to Hartlepool with his direct running and passing. They came somewhat close to a second goal in this period as Feeney flicked a Harper corner onto the roof of the net at the near post. Balls into the box were causing Hartlepool problems for large periods of the first half and Kelly found himself in space again as Jack Ellis fired a cross in, but the ex Rotherham man couldn’t generate enough power on the header which sailed comfortably into Cartwright’s arms.
Hartlepool were keen to let United know they weren’t out of the game and an excellent ball in from the right by Benn found Charman, but his effort was superbly charged down by the substitute Feeney.
The visitors had been relatively tight at the back in recent weeks despite their poor form but took a hit to their defensive setup just before the 40th minute mark as Cartwright went down clutching his leg after taking a routine free kick in his own area leading to Adam Smith having to come on and take his place in between the sticks for Grayson’s side.
Smith had little time to get set before he was almost called into action moments later as a reverse pass by Stephen Wearne found the run of Linney in the inside right channel, but his sliding effort went just wide of the post after he was well closed down by the onrushing Smith. Wearne threatened again moments later, breaking down the left flank and firing a low cross in which was turned over by ex Blue Tom Parkes, with the ball almost dropping in over Smith’s head.
HALF TIME: Carlisle 1 – 0 Hartlepool
Despite largely controlling the first half, Carlisle started the second half much like they did the first, and goalscorer Harper completely missed an interception in the middle of the park which led to Charman being played in down the right flank, his shot was initially blocked by a sliding Feeney but the resulting scramble on the 6 yard line eventually fell to Francis, and the Grenadan international made no mistake, slotting into the bottom left corner to level the scoring.
Carlisle looked a bit shell shocked by this and Hartlepool threatened their left flank a couple more times before they had a massive chance themselves to regain the lead in the 54th minute as an Archie Davies corner found Terrell Thomas 6 yards out but he could only direct his header over the bar. The game saw a couple more delays after this as Thomas himself sustained an injury leading to him being replaced by Josh Grant as Ellis slotted in next to Feeney at the back, before referee Simon Mather pulled up with a strain himself, meaning he was forced to switch roles with fourth official Richard Holmes.
This saw the match go into a little bit of a lull with the only sights of goal being a couple of long range efforts from Linney for the hosts that went comfortably wide. Carlisle were starting to get a firmer grip on the game again though and came close to a second goal as a Harper corner was flicked on at the near post by Feeney, but Linney couldn’t get enough on it at the far post to turn it in.
There were still warning signs for the hosts however and Hartlepool almost made another good chance moments later as Charman found the run of Benn down the right flank but his deep cross went just over the head of Francis at the back post, much to the relief of the United faithful.
Hartlepool were made to rue that missed chance in the 77th minute as a superb cross from deep by Harper found Kelly on the penalty spot, and he was able to superbly slot the ball low past Smith to regain the advantage for Carlisle.
Kelly was a nuisance for Hartlepool all game and came close to netting his second moments later as Hartlepool left themselves open while pushing for an equaliser and a counter led to Carlisle’s number 9 picking up the ball 25 yards out, but his curling effort sailed just wide of the right hand post.
Despite a good bit of pressure from the visitors, Carlisle put the game beyond doubt in the 89th minute as Linney picked up the ball about 40 yards from goal on the right flank before firing a lovely ball in which was flicked on by the head of Feeney to double United’s lead and notch his first goal since re-signing for the club in the summer. It could have been 4 in stoppage time as a cross from the byline by substitute Josh Williams found Kelly in the area, but he couldn’t keep the header down. Hartlepool fought to find some way back in but United secured the 3 points which saw them move back up to third in the National League table.
FULL TIME: Carlisle 3 – 1 Hartlepool: Harper (4′), Kelly (77′), Feeney (89′) – Francis (46′)
United: Breeze, Harper, Thomas (Grant 61′), Mugabi (Feeney 14′), Davies, Ellis, Gilliead, Wearne (Whelan 90′), Linney (Armstrong 90′), Luamba (Williams 90′), Kelly. Subs Not Used: Lewis, Ajiboye,
Hartlepool: Cartwright (Smith 38′), Topalloj (Daly 46′), John, Kouogun, Benn, Parkes (Walker 67′), Miley, Sheron, Francis, Charman (Oliver 78′), Johnson (Ferguson 79′). Subs Not Used: Dacosta, Hunter
How Did United Perform?
This was the exact kind of result that Carlisle really needed after two really poor outings against York and Rochdale, and despite a couple of scares and lapses at the back they were well deserving of the 3 points tonight.
The setup and balance looked a lot better from the off and while admittedly Hartlepool weren’t at the levels of the opposition we’ve faced in the last couple of games, they still had good bits of quality in their side and Carlisle largely controlled the game and kept them at arm’s length. The question marks still hang over their defence as some pooor moments of concentration led to an early scare as well as us conceding early in the second half as well.
I think Feeney was excellent when coming on early for Mugabi and i feel more comfortable with the defence while he’s a part of a back two, Wearne returning to his most comfortable position at the tip of the midfield made a big difference too, and he found plenty of pockets of space to cause Hartlepool problems.
We face a massive test against Scunthorpe on Saturday and will probably have to up our game once again from tonight, but if we keep doing the things we did right in this game and get our backline set, we’ll at least be well in the game against them.
Carlisle Player Ratings:
Breeze – 7: A couple of questionable bits of kicking aside, another good game for Breeze, commanding his area well, claiming crosses and making a vital save early on to stop what could have been a totally different game had Hartlepool gotten in front
Harper – 7: A very funny game for Harper, taking his goal excellently and assisting Kelly’s but some erratic defensive work early in the second half let Hartlepool back into the match, still, overall a good game by him.
Mugabi – 6: Did okay before he was withdrawn with injury, good tackle to stop a Hartlepool attack.
Thomas – 5: Still makes me nervous watching him at the back at times, showed glimpses of the quality he has but his distribution was erratic and didn’t cover himself in glory for Hartlepool’s goal.
Davies – 7: Didn’t get forward as much as he usually does in games but linked up with Luamba well at points and did his defensive work really well.
Ellis – 6: Decent game in the midfield for Ellis, couple of sloppy passes but showed great intelligence going forward at times to launch a couple of attacks.
Gilliead – 7: Another good solid display by him, rarely ever has a bad game and uses the ball very intelligently.
Wearne – 7: Great to see him back in his more comfortable role, found some great space and his passing and quick feet kept Hartlepool on their toes all game.
Luamba – 6: Worked hard and showed some glimpses of quality but never really threatened to make anything happen, still think having him in allows for a more balanced side and his positive thinking makes a difference.
Linney – 7: Two great assists for him tonight and his work in the first half especially was superb, question marks over his defensive work however as he left Harper really exposed at points in the second half, not sure whether he was just exhausted but it’s something we need to be wary of especially when under pressure.
Kelly – 8 (MotM): Great performance by him tonight, held the ball up superbly, linked up the play when he needed to and took his goal well. Should probably have had a hat trick if he had been clinical with his headers, but outside of that he was a nightmare for Hartlepoool to deal with
SUBSTITUTES
Feeney – 8: Couple of excellent blocks at crucial moments and dealt with one or two sticky situations very well, great to see him on the scoresheet too.
Grant – 7: Put in a couple of very good challenges after coming on and looked comfortable in the midfield, much better than he was on his debut against Solihull.
Armstrong, Whelan, Williams – N/A: Not on long enough.
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