Last updated at 12:19, Monday, 04 October 2010

Carlisle United 0 Peterborough 1: With each purposeful hobble towards the touchline, the feeling grew that Graham Kavanagh was eventually going to cast away his crutches and limp in the direction of Peterborough’s penalty area to show Carlisle United the way to goal.

Frank Simek takes a throw in as Greg Abbott and Graham Kavanagh look on

On Saturday the Blues’ assistant manager turned up for work wielding the most notable touchline props since Steve McClaren’s brolly.

Certainly, Kavanagh looked a thousand times more assertive brandishing his mobility aids than the former England coach did whilst protecting his hair from the rain.

Not that the 36-year-old could gesture United towards the equaliser which Greg Abbott felt his team deserved. Kavanagh will this week go for an exploratory operation on the knee injury which necessitated his technical area apparatus, while Abbott heads off in search of ways to force the ball into the opposition’s net on Carlisle’s home ground.

United have reached the first stock-taking point of the League One season – the 10-game mark – in fourth place, which offers decent protection against noisy concerns over their lack of goals at Brunton Park.

After a third home game without scoring, though, Abbott was prepared to concede that fans trudging down Warwick Road are not getting sufficient bang for their buck.

“Our second-half response was terrific and all we lacked was a goal,” said the Cumbrians’ manager. “But we’ve been saying that for the last few home games now. It’s something for us to ponder on.”

Abbott went on to make a more compelling point in the wake of a Peterborough victory earned by Craig Mackail-Smith’s 32nd-minute opportunism.

It was that the Blues can get to work on any faults thrown up by their first home loss of the campaign from a position of relative strength.

In other words, United are not rummaging around for improvements to get them away from the dead men of their division, as they were this time last year to a soundtrack of desperation. Anxiety in the camp can remain on a low setting today.

The immediate hope is for a collective filling of boots against League Two opposition (Port Vale) in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy tomorrow night before Notts County shin up to Cumbria next Saturday.

In basic terms, what we saw two days ago was the difference between apprehensive Hartlepool – Carlisle’s previous opponents – and assertive Peterborough, who profited from the Blues’ unwanted five-goal swing to leap into second spot on October’s first weekend. And if there was a man who defined this dip in fortune it was Gary Madine, who belted three goals past Pools in last Tuesday’s 4-0 win but couldn’t recover that deadly touch against Posh.

The 20-year-old’s Victoria Park blitz, which prompted the former United legend Les O’Neill to describe Madine as the talk of umpteen Championship clubs, has shifted expectations. Now there is an anticipation that he will bury chances such as the headed opportunity he spurned in the 77th minute on Saturday. Such are the obstacles on consistency’s road.

Peterborough’s own strike-force, meanwhile, are the best possible tribute to the scouting profession. All three of their danger men – Mackail-Smith, Aaron Mclean and George Boyd – were lifted from non-league and have long formed the menacing face that Gary Johnson’s team present to the enemy. Such was the case from the off in this confrontation, as the blond dasher Mackail-Smith tried to unsettle Peter Murphy on his first United start for six months, Mclean drifted around in search of opportunities and Boyd glided infield from the right flank.

In the fourth minute, Boyd sneaked into space and supplied Mclean, who was eventually crowded out by Frank Simek and Murphy, the Dubliner looking reassuringly sharp in the absence of the injured loan giant Lubo Michalik.

Peterborough’s quality in attack was matched by a tightness and purpose in midfield and defence which ensured that Carlisle would find fewer gaps than they managed in the north-east. Retaining a winger-led system, the Blues gradually retrieved some composure and almost snaffled a goal when Ben Marshall pressed down the right, crossed to the near post and watched Madine fail by a fraction to divert the ball on target.

A flurry of corners and free-kicks followed for United, but their visitors remained threatening on the break, such as the moment Tom Taiwo was ambushed and Lee Tomlin fed Mclean, who was denied by Adam Collin’s leg.

No such luck for the Blues in the next Posh surge, which came after Sean McDaid made an unforced error. Rapidly, the ball was hooked deep into Cumbrian territory by Matthew Gill, allowing Mackail-Smith to bustle clear from an onside position and poke the chance under the advancing Collin.

Buoyed, the same striker almost pocketed a second goal but was denied by Collin after a weak Taiwo header. Upfield, Marshall curled a cross just out of James Chester’s reach.

By this point Abbott had convinced himself to jettison his wingers (Marshall and Robson) in favour of the diamond system which propelled United through August and most of September.

Those alterations were duly made at the interval – Craig Curran and Oliver Norwood rising from the bench – and United duly found some of their missing urgency. But not, alas, an equaliser. Francois Zoko, otherwise becalmed, almost provided one five minutes into the half, curling a peach of a cross to the far post which Madine couldn’t convert. Another crisp passing move led Curran to head over a McDaid cross, before Murphy timed a sliding challenge to perfection to deny the raiding Mackail-Smith.

Chances now flowed sporadically. Tomlin, shooting from distance, was thwarted by the diving Collin. At the other end, Madine spread play to Simek and then headed the American’s expert cross wastefully wide. A final spasm of Carlisle pressure – Murphy heading a corner into a visiting body, Joe Lewis blocking a Curran blast, Berrett dropping a header onto the top of the net – yielded only exasperation. And Abbott battled manfully to wear his frustrations lightly at close of play.

“We’re getting used to not losing,” said the manager, who rightly credited Peterborough for their obstinate defending. “So when you do lose, it’s hard to take.”

Again: United’s ascent after 10 games remains something to applaud. No home goals since August 21, though, is the stat that threatens to kick away their crutches, knock them off their stride.

ADAM COLLIN - Couldn’t prevent Mackail-Smith’s winner but made a handful of good saves to keep Carlisle in it.

FRANK SIMEK - Sharp and watchful, the American was United’s most impressive player.

SEAN MCDAID- Given a tough time as Posh - chiefly the elusive Boyd - attacked down the Blues’ left.

PETER MURPHY - Solid return to the colours, Murphy made some good interventions to thwart dangerous visitors.

JAMES CHESTER- Distribution was mixed but there was little to fault in the Manchester United man’s defending.

TOM TAIWO - Not at his best in the first half but was closer to his aggressive best after the break.

JAMES BERRETT - Mixed bag of set-pieces, the midfield man was one of several players who raised their game as things went on.

MATTY ROBSON - Not the left-winger’s day. Few chances to run at Posh defence and sacrificed at the break.

BEN MARSHALL - Almost supplied a goal for Madine but Marshall, like Robson, generally struggled to get going.

FRANCOIS ZOKO - Frequently crowded out by Johnson’s watchful defenders, the Ivorian wasn’t in the game enough to hurt Posh.

GARY MADINE - Got himself into some excellent positions but couldn’t find the finishing touch.

Subs: Craig Curran (for Robson 46) - Added urgency; Oliver Norwood (for Marshall 46) - Positive passing; Jason Price (for Berrett 86) - No late impact. Not used: Tony Caig, Kevan Hurst, Tony Kane, Ben McKenna.

Peterborough: Lewis, Little, Rowe (Ofori-Twumasi 46), Langmead, Zakuani, Gill (Lee 79), Davies, Tomlin, Boyd, Mclean (Frecklington 86), Mackail-Smith. Not used: Collis, Hibbert, Whelpdale, Mendez-Laing.

Goals: Mackail-Smith 32

Booked: Mclean

Ref: Peter Quinn (Cleveland)

Crowd: 5,735

First published at 11:36, Monday, 04 October 2010
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk