Carlisle United kicked off their National League campaign perfectly as they ran out 2-0 winners against a resolute Woking side with goals from Luke Armstrong and Ethan Robson.
The Blues started the stronger of the two team, pressing Woking high and forcing a couple of mistakes but the home side defended well and limited Carlisle to a couple of half chances. The game almost saw an early breakthrough however as new signing Regan Linney saw an opportunity to chip Craig Ross in the Woking goal from long range, but Ross backpedaled and made a superb fingertip save to turn the ball over the crossbar. The pressure didn’t subside easily as the resulting corner led to a goalmouth scramble which Woking eventually managed to clear, much to the relief of Neil Ardley and the home faithful.
Some Woking fans thought they had opened the scoring a few minutes later after a long throw wasn’t properly cleared by Carlisle and the resulting chipped ball into the area was flicked on over Gabe Breeze’s head by a Woking man but the linesman’s flag was up in good time to quickly silence any celebrations.
Carlisle regained the ascendancy quickly and Armstrong was causing Okoli and Akinola plenty of headaches at the back for the Cardinals. Woking remained resolute however and threatened to catch Mark Hughes’ side on the break a couple of times, including a great ball down the right hand side which led to Breeze receieving a yellow card following a poor tackle after he charged out of his area in an attempt to clear.
The game threatened to fizzle out towards the end of the first half with Woking nullifying Carlisle’s attacks and starting to keep control of possession, however United almost went into the break with the lead after an excellent Elliot Embleton corner was almost turned in by Carlisle captian Aaron Hayden at the back post, but once again Ross was there to superbly deny the away side.
HALF TIME: Woking 0 – 0 Carlisle United
The second half started largely how the first half finished, with both sides trading attacks down the flanks, with Linney threatening to get in down the left hand side on a couple of occasions, and Woking almost catching United on the break after debutant Harvey Macadam was caught in possession just inside the Woking half.
Carlisle were the side to take the lead however in the 57th minute of the game, after a fantastic through ball from Jack Ellis played in Armstrong down the inside right channel, and the ex Harrogate man got his head down and rifled his shot superbly into the far bottom left corner of the goal.
Their lead could easily have been doubled just minutes later, after a deflected volley from Linney looped over the head of Ross and struck the crossbar, and the onrushing Armstrong could only head onto the bar from a couple of yards out after he appeared to be caught in the face by the raised boot of the floored goalkeeper, leaving him requiring treatment and playing out the rest of the game with a bandaged head and a bloody nose.
Hughes’ side weren’t deterred however, and bagged their second in the 80th minute after substitute Stepehen Wearne was controversially adjudged to have been brought down by Jamie Andrews following a positive run into the centre from the right flank, and fellow substitue Ethan Robson superbly dispatched the free kick right into the top left corner to notch his first goal for the club since signing last summer.
There was almost an immediate response by Woking however, as substitute Inih Effiong found Harry Beautyman with a chipped pass to the back post, but the former Sutton United man could only direct his header past the far post.
Carlisle almost put the icing on the cake in the final moments of the game after substitute Georgie Kelly superbly used his body to turn his man in the box, but couldn’t find a way past the resilient Ross in the Woking goal. United professionally saw out the stoppage time period and made the journey back up north with 3 points in the bag from the opening game of the season.
Woking: Ross, Drewe, Okoli, Tunji Akinola, Richards, Timmy Akinola (Turner 76′), Andrews, Ward, Beautyman, O’Brien (Osude 76′), Sanderson (Effiong 76′) Subs not used: Norcott, Hinds, Odusina, Ashford
Carlisle: Breeze, Ellis, Hayden, Thomas, Harper, Whelan, Macadam (Robson 71′), Embleton (Wearne 76′), Ajiboye (Davies 88′), Linney (Murray 88′), Armstrong (Kelly 71′) Subs not used: Lewis, Mugabi
How Did United Perform?
I think the game played out just about exactly how Carlisle and Mark Hughes would have wanted it to, a perhaps unremarkable but a very professional and dominant performance to get the victory over a Woking side who were very good on home soil last season, two goals and a clean sheet is a fantastic start for United and they will be especially pleased with how little they allowed Woking to create over the course of the game.
Luke Armstrong looks rejuvenated following his loan spell at Motherwell in the second half of last season, and Jack Ellis and Aaron Hayden were particularly solid at the back when they were called upon. Harvey Macadam also looked solid on his first game for the club and should only get better, having only played 45 minutes for the team in pre season. Ethan Robson will also be over the moon after his excellent goal following a tough first year as a Carlisle player.
All in all, Carlisle fans couldn’t have asked for too much more and while they could have had a couple more goals, a 2-0 win isn’t something you can turn down easily.
Carlisle Player Ratings:
Breeze – 6
Ellis – 8 (MOTM)
Hayden – 7
Thomas – 6
Harper – 6
Whelan – 7
Macadam – 7
Embleton – 7
Ajiboye – 6
Linney – 7
Armstrong – 8
Subs:
Robson – 7
Kelly – 6
Wearne – 7
Davies – N/A
Murray – N/A
Please note that these are Craig’s opinions and nothing official!
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