David Amoo, whose brace helped Carlisle to victory
SUMMARY
Carlisle United secured victory today over ten man Peterborough United thanks to a couple of goals from David Amoo. Carlisle just about edged a closely contested first half, as Robert Olejnik denied Tom Lawrence on two occasions. Things looked gloomy for Posh, as Hogan Ephraim was sent off early in the second half for a lunge on Liam Noble. Peterborough were spurred on by this however, as Lee Tomlin hit a superb free kick past the despairing Ben Amos.
Carlisle were not to be denied however, as Amoo converted crosses, first from Lawrence and then from substitute Matty Robson to give Carlisle the goal advantage. Peterborough could have leveled after Courtney Meppen-Walter felled Jermaine Anderson inside the box, but Grant McCann’s spot kick was superbly tipped onto the post by Amos.
Attendance: 3,904 (288 away fans)
Referee: Seb Stockbridge
Official Carlisle Man Of The Match: Liam Noble
My Man Of The Match: Courtney Meppen-Walter
LINEUPS
CARLISLE
SUBS:
Fleming (GK)
Miller (Guy – 69′)
Robson (Buaben -64′)
Roddan
Symington
Chimbonda
Morris (Meppen-Walter – 89′)
PETERBOROUGH
SUBS:
McCann (Swanson – 68′)
Vasell
Day (GK)
Anderson (Newell – 69′)
Knight-Percival
Marshall
Jeffers (Payne – 82′)
MATCH REPORT
The game at Brunton Park on Sunday was one that promised goals, with both sides showing in recent weeks their attacking ability, playing some very nice and attractive football. Things didn’t exactly start as expected, with the opening ten minutes of the encounter making it look like it was going to pan out as a very drab affair. Things kicked into life in the 13th minute however, as Prince Buaben fed Tom Lawrence down the left hand side. The Manchester United loanee cut out on to his weaker left foot and fired a good shot which was well saved by Robert Olejnik.
A mere four minutes later and the hosts were on the attack again, as Liam Noble took a quick throw in from the left which found Lawrence, who burst towards the Peterborough goal and unleashed a volley through the legs of Michael Bostwick, only to once again see his effort stopped by Posh keeper Olejnik. Twenty minutes in and the visitors began to find their feet, as a Danny Swanson free kick from the left wing found Shaun Brisley towards the far post. His downward header trickled through a crowd of players before Ben Amos clawed the ball away, diving low to his right hand side.
Carlisle had a clear penalty turned down just five minutes later, as James Berrett flighted in a free kick towards the penalty area. Lewis Guy attempted to go for the ball, only to be grabbed around the chest by both of Brisley’s arms. This was the first of a number of decisions which incensed the Carlisle faithful. Peterborough nearly found a leveler half an hour into the game, as Bostwick found space inside the Cumbrians’ penalty area, only to fire his header wide of the left hand post.
The game had really kicked into life and so far, it was a very close encounter. The referee was not intent on letting the game flow, however, bringing back the play for soft fouls and booking Noble and Buaben for individual incidents despite only giving the consistently fouling Peterborough players a talking to. The game fizzled out a little towards the end of the half, with the only efforts of note being a Lawrence 30 yard drive which went well over the bar, and a Guy effort from the right hand side, which deflected and fell kindly into Olejnik’s hands. The half came to a close, and it would take a brave man to put his money on either team, despite Carlisle arguably having the better chances.
HALF TIME: CARLISLE 0 – 0 PETERBOROUGH
Six minutes into the second half, Carlisle fans had reason to be especially optimistic, as QPR loanee Hogan Ephraim was (quite harshly) sent off by referee Stockbridge for a late challenge on Noble, the hosts pressed to gain the advantage, as Brad Potts hit a 25 yard strike which flew directly into the arms of Olejnik. The visitors were intent on defying the odds however, and improved their performance dramatically after being reduced to ten men. Surely enough, following Lee Tomlin’s trickery and Sean O’Hanlon’s foul (Which was again punished by a yellow card), the Peterborough number 10 picked himself back up and hit a marvelous curling free kick which hit the underside of the bar, bounced down on the line, back up on to the bar and over the goal line to give Posh the advantage.
Carlisle manager Kavanagh wasted little time in changing things, bringing on Matty Robson for Prince Buaben and going 4-4-2, with Potts moving to right full back and Meppen-Walter filling in on the left hand side. Robson took his place on the left wing as Lawrence joined Lewis Guy up top. Both sides made further changes a few minutes later, as Peterborough attempted to shore up the midfield, bringing on veteran Grant McCann and 17 year old Jermaine Anderson. The hosts responded by bringing the physical presence of Lee Miller on in place of Guy, who had worked his socks off up to this point.
Carlisle began to regain the upper hand and in the 72nd minute of the game, their pressure paid off. Berrett opted to take a short corner to Lawrence, who played a good ball to the edge of the six yard box which fell to the feet of David Amoo, who had been receiving some criticism from the crowd after backing out of a couple of challenges. The ex Preston and Tranmere man made no mistake, as he controlled and fired past Olejnik.
Amoo was on hand just over a minute later as a marvelous through ball from Lawrence down the left had substitute Robson on his bike, and he drilled a cross along the floor to the far post to Amoo, who made no mistake and gave Carlisle the advantage.
Peterborough were not intent on going down without a fight however, as full back Mark Little broke down the right hand side, only to see his cross miss everyone in the box and go out for a goal kick. They made their intentions very clear as they sent former Coventry striker Shaun Jeffers on for Jack Payne. The Blue Boys were handed a golden opportunity to level the match, as teenager Anderson was brought down in the box by Meppen-Walter following a period in which the referee appeared desperate to level the match up. The usually reliable McCann stepped up to the spot only to see his penalty helped onto the post by the finger tips of Ben Amos, who sent his former team’s fans slumping back into their seats. Carlisle made their final substitute of the game as Josh Morris replaced the exemplary Meppen-Walter, a move which saw Robson move back into the Cumbrians’ back line and the Blackburn loanee take his place on the left hand side of midfield.
Peterborough could have been reduced to 9 men in stoppage time, as substitute Morris broke towards the box after another good ball from Lawrence, only to be brought down by Little, who, despite being the last man, only received a yellow card. Lawrence fired the resulting free kick at goal, but Olejnik was there again to deny him a goal, palming the shot away. The referee’s whistle blew, and Carlisle’s fans were sent home happy, Darren Ferguson, managing in front of his father Alex, who was present in the away directors’ box, was sent home without anything to show.
FULL TIME: CARLISLE 2 – 1 PETERBOROUGH (Amoo, 72′ 73′) – (Tomlin, 61′)
Under The Floodlights 