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Youths fall at home to Carlisle
The match was quite a poor one to be fair, with the slippery, uneven pitch causing problems for both sides. Attempts to run with the ball were thwarted by divots and sharp passing was disrupted by a heavy pitch, with most of the lads losing their footing as they attempted to twist and turn.
The first half started in bright sunshine with a slight breeze. We had most of the possession but created very little. Most of the action was contained in the middle third of the pitch, with our early efforts coming from long range shots which never tested the keeper. Around 25 minutes in poor defensive work led to a penalty kick to the visitors and they took advantage despite the keeper getting his hand on the strike.
Carlisle could have made it two minutes later but saw the ball trickle wide when the striker seemed one-on-one with Sergeant. Rob Turner was unlucky with a neat shot on the turn as our best chance came and went. But the half finished 1-0 as the sun disappeared behind big old cloud.
The second half started at the same time as the torrential rain and the howling wind. I thought about leaving but decided we'd take advantage of the wind in this half so zipped up and allowed the ritual soaking to commence. I was wrong. The second half seemed to become increasingly more one sided as the pitch worsened and our lads heads dropped as their footballing efforts went unrewarded.
The visitors played some good stuff, keeping touches to a minimum and pressing us whenever we attempted to take our time. We made a host of changes, using all three subs and moved remaining players into new positions to try and find a breakthrough. Alex McDonald could have scored with his first touch but couldn't quite stretch far enough as a ball was played in.
With less than 10 minutes to go Carlisle broke and played a series of passes through our defence. The spectators and players all called for offside. Burnley stopped and watched. Carlisle played on, seeing the ball get stroked past Sergeant, into the back of the net.
We kept trying but looked like we were getting nothing from the game. With two minutes remaining we scored though as Rob Turner was first to a through ball and poked it past the visiting keeper. We could have levelled it up in stoppage time as an Ali Akbar direct free kick drifted wide, but that would have been harsh on Carlisle who were definitely good value for the three points overall.
The lads have 4 days to lift their spirits now for the FA Youth cup clash at The Arbories against MK Dons, when some of those missing today may have returned.
Team:- Jon Sergeant, Ben Hoskin, Paul Casey (Thomas Bradley), Chris Lynch, Jay Rodriguez, Ali Akbar, Lewis Craig (Alex-Ray Harvey), Connor Smith, Adam Kay, Ash Young (Alex McDonald), Rob Turner. Not used:- Chris Anderson.