Carlisle United made it 11 games unbeaten in all competitions after a narrow 2-1 win over mid table Tamworth thanks to a brace from Georgie Kelly.
United came into this game with momentum following their late win away at Boston last weekend and almost found themselves ahead early as Junior Luamba cut back to Kelly from the right flank, but Kelly’s volley flew harmlessly over the Tamworth goal. The hosts had the better of the early exchanges of the game and last week’s match winner Harvey Macadam came close in the 10th minute as his curling left footed shot sailed just wide of Jas Singh’s right hand post.
Tamworth had only won 1 of their previous 5 matches coming into this game but had picked up a couple of impressive results this season and were certainly well in the game, threatening especially through Tyler Roberts, whose dangerous direct run led to a shot which was well blocked by Aaron Hayden.
The Lambs were also threatening down the other flank through Ronan Maher and moments later he had a decent effort from the edge of the area, but the shot was easily held by Gabe Breeze. Despite the Tamworth resurgence, Mark Hughes’ side soon took the lead as an initial cross from Cameron Harper was only cleared as far as Macadam, the ex Morecambe man knocked it right to Luamba, who cut the ball back to Chris Conn-Clarke whose shot was saved by Singh, but Kelly was on his toes to easily tap in the rebound and give Carlisle a 25th minute lead.
Despite Maher moments later again having a low shot well saved by Breeze, Tamworth really struggled to get on the ball after the goal and this led to a sustained period of pressure from the hosts who thought they had scored a second when a corner fell to Luamba who flicked towards goal from close range past Singh who clawed the ball from behind the post when it looked to have creeped over the line. Conn-Clarke was involved again moments later when he was brought down on the edge of the area to win a free kick, and the Peterborough loanee’s set piece was deflected and well saved by Singh.
Conn-Clarke again caused havoc for Tamworth not long after as his mazy run opened up space for a shot but the effort was stopped by the head of Kennedy Digie. Carlisle’s number 38 was again at the centre of things in the 36th minute as he found Regan Linney with a ball down the left flank, and United’s top scorer drilled in a cross which somehow evaded the onrushing pair of Kelly and Tamworth defender Joe Rye.
Despite the pressure from the Cumbrians, it was Tamworth who would notch the second goal of the game as a corner from Maher was initially cleared, but the ball ended up back at his feet before he whipped in a cross and found the near post run of Jordan Ponticelli who expertly flicked into the far corner of the goal to equalise for the visitors. United looked a little rattled by conceding this goal but did have a late first half chance when Linney found Harper on the edge of the area but his effort on his weaker right foot was tame and easily saved by Singh.
HALF TIME: Carlisle 1 – 1 Tamworth
Contrary to the first half, Tamworth started the second by far the better of the two sides and a looping cross from Maher almost caught out Breeze in the United area, striking the bar as it sailed over his head, the ball fell to Solihull loanee Dan Creaney, who had already scored against United this season for his parent club, but his effort was deflected wide of the goal.
Carlisle were keen to make their extra quality count and broke down the other end quickly as Conn-Clarke played a cross field pass to Linney, whose effort from the left hand side was unconvincingly pushed wide by Singh. Linney threatened again not long after but this time his effort was blocked by the foot of Digie after another great ball from Conn-Clarke.
Andy Peaks’ side were given a golden opportunity to go ahead in the 51st minute as Maher nutmegged Alex Gilliead on the left flank before driving into the area and being clipped by a sliding tackle from Josh Williams. Tamworth captain Ben Milnes stepped up to the spot, but his penalty was a poor one and well saved by Breeze to his right hand side.
Tamworth really looked like the missed penalty had knocked the stuffing out of them as the game lacked quality in the following 10 minutes or so before Linney had another decent chance after Harper found him with a ball dow n the line but United’s top scorer’s effort was tame and easily saved by Singh.
Carlisle looked to up the ante and went 2 up front, bringing Luke Armstrong on for the final 15 minutes and they came close not long after as a Tamworth clearance only went as far as Conn-Clarke on the edge of the penalty area, but his curling effort was well held again by Singh in the Tamworth goal.
Tamworth were beginning to look likely to hold out for a point but their hopes were dashed moments later as Conn-Clarke again found Linney on the left flank before Linney’s driven cross found the near post run of Kelly, who flicked in to restore Carlisle’s advantage. Linney almost found a goal himself minute later as he cut in from the left flank and hit a 30 yard effort towards the top right corner which saw the ball whistle just past the post.
The Blues were looking to put the game beyond all doubt late on and substitute David Ajiboye came close in the 86th minute as his shot from the edge of the area was deflected and then tipped onto the bar by Singh. One final chance would come Carlisle’s way as Kelly was tackled in the area before the ball was cleared as far as Macadam who drove a first time effort towards goal, but saw it edge barely wide of the right hand post. Ultimately it didn’t matter however as Carlisle sealed the 3 points to retain 2nd place in a hotly contested National League.
FULL TIME: Carlisle 2 – 1 Tamworth: Kelly (25′, 79′) – Ponticelli (39′)
Carlisle: Breeze, Williams, Hayden, Feeney, Harper, Macadam, Gilliead (Armstrong 75′), Conn-Clarke (Ellis 91′), Luamba (Ajiboye 64′), Linney, Kelly. Unused Subs: Lewis, Whelan, Davies, Wearne.
Tamworth: Singh, Donkor, Digie, Rye (Hollis 83′), Cockerill-Mollett (Curley 46′), Bates, Maher, Milnes (Tonks 71′), Roberts (Duku 87′), Ponticelli, Creaney (Lynch 71′), Unused Subs: Mols, Rachel.
How Did United Perform?
This was far from a pretty win but could be one of those that we look back on as vital come the end of the season. We could and probably should have been out of sight in the first half, missing a good handful of chances to double and maybe triple our lead after we opened the scoring, but simultaneously we were lucky not to fall behind when Breeze saved Milnes’ penalty in the second half.
Tamworth didn’t look like the best of outfits but looked threatening from set pieces and in Maher and Roberts had a couple of good players out wide that had our defence on our toes. 11 games unbeaten shows we’re absolutely doing a lot of things right, but we could certainly do with upping our game and especially being more clinical against better sides in the coming weeks.
Carlisle Player Ratings:
Breeze: 7 – Seemed in no man’s land for the cross in the second half which hit the bar, but a vital penalty save and otherwise commanded his area quite well.
Williams: 6 – Silly tackle to give away the penalty but his pace was always apparent especially as the game went on.
Feeney: 6 – Not much to note here, did his job well but had a couple of questionable balls out from defence and slowed the game down a bit too much.
Hayden: 7 – Battled very well in the air against a tough test in Ponticelli and swept up some potentially dangerous situations.
Harper: 7 – Looked like he was in for a tough evening early on against Roberts but grew as the game went on and stuck to his guns, linked up well with Linney.
Gilliead: 6 – Had a solid enough game in midfield without doing anything particularly remarkable.
Macadam: 7 – Used the ball well and showed good pace and strength in his recovery runs when called upon, unlucky not to score late on.
Conn-Clarke: 8 (MoTM) – Most of what we did well today went through him, found teammates in dangerous areas with his passing and was a big part of our opening goal.
Linney : 7 – Donkor did very well against him today, struggled to beat him at points but was especially dangerous in the second half and got a deserved assist for the 2nd goal.
Luamba: 5 – Not his game today, looked bright early on but faded as the game progressed and struggled with some basic things in the second half.
Kelly: 8 – Led the line well on his own, looked like it might have been another one of those games for him when he missed the early chance but he stuck at it and was definitely helped when Armstrong came on. Was given sponsors’ man of the match.
Subs:
Ajiboye: 6 – Did ok when he came on, still could do with being more positive.
Armstrong: 6 – Worked hard after coming on, helped take some of the attention away from Kelly.
Ellis: N/A – Not on long enough to judge.
Please note these are Craig’s opinions and nothing official!
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