By Jon Colman

Last updated at 12:34, Monday, 20 September 2010

Carlisle United 0 Brighton 0: Somebody at the Football League must have sent the 0-0 draw in for a makeover during the summer months. The dull, scoreless afternoon has been recast as an enjoyable spectacle.

Sean McDaid and Oliver Norwood react to a decision

Now it’s possible to stroll out of Brunton Park with oodles to talk about in return for your dosh, even when the bag of air hasn’t touched the back of the net once.

Is this a rosy-eyed view of United’s second successive blank at their home ground? Not when you reach back and rummage through the assorted incidents that this tussle with Brighton provided.

Even without the ripple of leather against netting, there was enough to engage the most pure-minded optimist and the bleakest pessimist: several near misses, one breathtaking save, a controversial penalty appeal and enough snap and battle to offset the frustration that kicked in at 4.45pm.

From a Cumbrian stance, this was either a twin exhibition of Carlisle’s attacking hunger and defensive solidity, or a presentation of some flaws around the rival box tacked on to a second half when the Blues’ composure turned and fled. A little from both columns is probably the fairest way to chronicle Saturday’s events. What certainly cannot be said is that it was sterile stodge in the bleakest traditions of the nil-all deadlock.

For 45 minutes, Greg Abbott’s team laid on a highly decent spread, then Gus Poyet’s expensively-assembled visitors took their turn. The result was a scoreline that disguised the fine goalscoring opportunities crafted by Carlisle and the bright football assembled by the Seagulls, whilst accurately reflecting the obduracy shown by both back fours.

“When the dust settles, let’s be positive,” said Abbott. “We’re third in the table on goal difference, still unbeaten and we’ve kept three clean sheets on the trot. I should be swinging from the trees, shouldn’t I?”

Perhaps. Carlisle’s last 270 minutes of action has spat out a single goal at either end (taken by Craig Curran at Hillsborough nine days ago). The fact United have banked five points in such a period entitles Abbott to keep presenting an optimistic face to the world. Consecutive shut-outs against Swindon, Sheffield Wednesday and Brighton is an impressive feat in anyone’s terms, and ensures that Abbott’s team will keep drawing as much value as they can from engagements when they struggle to find an assassin’s touch downfield.

On Saturday – in the first half, particularly – they had enough realistic openings to have tipped Brighton onto the canvas. Three, to be precise: a fizzing shot from James Berrett that whistled an inch wide, a back-stick header from Tom Taiwo which was superbly clawed away by Casper Ankergren, the former Leeds goalkeeper; and a penalty-box plummet from Frank Simek which drew not the penalty it seemed to merit, but a yellow card for diving for Carlisle’s captain for the day.

Jock Waugh, the referee, can be fingered for the latter aberration, but otherwise United are today obliged to get to work their own failings in enemy territory. “If you don’t get that goal when you are in the ascendancy, you are always going to give teams encouragement,” said Abbott. Brighton duly lapped up possession in the second half but found United’s defenders – Lubo Michalik and James Chester especially – in forbidding mood.

Earlier, Brunton Park’s first 6,000 crowd of the campaign had sent Abbott’s team into battle with noisy acclaim, as Oliver Norwood, the latest loanee, parked himself at the base of the Blues’ midfield diamond and dispatched some tidy passes across the smooth turf.

Poyet’s decision to field an additional midfielder at the expense of striker Ashley Barnes revealed his own view of Carlisle’s strengths. The visitors impressed with their early passing and movement in this area, and crafted an early chance for Gary Dicker, but United eventually blasted them back into their own half with their energy and aggression.

This was typified by the ninth-minute chance-from-nothing they forced, when Sean McDaid won a fine challenge near the box, Craig Curran nudged the ball to the right, and Berrett drilled it just past Ankergren’s target. A long-range sighter from Michalik followed, then Francois Zoko panicked Adam El-Abd into battering a clearance against his own goalkeeper.

Now attacking freely, United advanced again through Chester, who marched from the back and fed Taiwo, who slipped the ball left to Madine and then sprinted onto the striker’s deep cross, forcing Ankergren into the save of the game: a diving, one-handed claw that denied a likely goal.

Elsewhere, captain Simek was keeping the rapid Kazenga LuaLua in check, as Glenn Murray led a toiling line against Michalik and Chester. United pressed on with a Berrett cross which was almost finished off by the sliding Madine, and then through Simek, who bustled past a challenge, plunged under Dicker’s challenge and then had his eyes out on stalks at Waugh’s flash of yellow.

Simek’s booking, it was presumed, would lead to a strategical move from Brighton to isolate Carlisle’s right-back and urge LuaLua to draw a second bookable foul from the American. That LuaLua was withdrawn by Poyet on the hour tells you how successfully that policy was pursued. The only trouble was that the Seagulls then found alternative ways to trouble their hosts.

After the ubiquitous Simek had ended a fine, battling attack by bending a cross just out of Curran’s reach, Brighton twisted the dial on their ball-retention and suddenly started to stretch the Blues. The sight of the right-back Inigo Calderon gliding down the right flank became one of the half’s defining features, whilst the wily Bulgarian Radostin Kishishev directed traffic from central areas. From one raid, Calderon’s cross was cleared by Michalik, before the ball was fed to Dicker for a blocked drive.

Then a long clearance enabled Murray to sneak behind Michalik and Chester and shoot wastefully wide. United, struggling to reclaim their handle on the game, were not without effort but the ball kept being smuggled back into their own half. Twenty minutes from time, the sub Christian Baz led a one-man counter-attack and screamed a shot just off target from distance, and then Murray clipped a cross just over the head of Matt Sparrow in the box.

Abbott’s attempt to snatch back some territory saw him feed two wingers (Matty Robson and Ben Marshall) into a re-ordered formation, and then offer Jason Price a couple of minutes to hunt down a winning goal. But Carlisle’s re-emergence’s came too late, and after a brace of injury-time chances apiece – substitute Barnes heading a corner straight to Collin, and Ankergren denying Marshall’s shot from Norwood’s fine diagonal ball – the entertainment was at an end.

It was then left for Abbott to weigh his team’s failure to plot a path to Brighton’s net against United’s establishing of the best defensive record in the division (just three goals conceded in seven games). “We’re unscathed, we’ve not been battered and we fight on again,” said the manager, who would presumably take a dreary old victory at Bournemouth next weekend ahead of another sparkling showcase for the stalemate.

ADAM COLLIN - Impressively protected for the second week in a row, the keeper dealt sufficiently with the crosses that came his way.

FRANK SIMEK - Before and after his debatable booking, captain Simek did an impressive number on the lightning LuaLua.

SEAN MCDAID - Tackled impressively, could have done with better support when Seagulls were attacking down his flank in second half.

LUBO MICHALIK - Another no-nonsense display from the towering Slovakian, who has still to concede a goal in Carlisle colours.

JAMES CHESTER - A sharp defensive performance, both Chester and Michalik gave the dangerous Murray little change.

OLIVER NORWOOD - Always positive in his use of the ball and decent in the tackle on his debut.

TOM TAIWO - At the heart of United’s midfield work, the battling Taiwo kept United competitive until thigh injury forced his withdrawal.

JAMES BERRETT - Strong first-half display, quieter after the break as Albion got on top of the Blues.

FRANCOIS ZOKO - Worried Seagulls at times with his pace but couldn’t force a clear opening.

CRAIG CURRAN -A whisker away from adding to his tally, worked as hard as ever against tough opponents.

GARY MADINE - Involved in plenty of good things in the first half but faded after the break.

Subs: Ben Marshall (for Taiwo 72) – Almost won it at the death; Matty Robson (for Curran 78) – Tried to create something. Jason Price (for Zoko 89) – Too late to have impact. Not used: Tony Caig, Peter Murphy, Graham Kavanagh, Tony Kane.

Booked: Simek, Zoko

Brighton: Ankergren, Calderon, Painter, Elphick, El-Abd, Kishishev, Sparrow, Dicker, Bennett (Baz 61), LuaLua (Barnes 61), Murray. Not used: Brezovan, Battipiedi, Sandaza, Bridcutt, Dunk.

Booked: Sparrow.

Ref: Jock Waugh (South Yorkshire).

Crowd: 6,043 (422 Brighton fans).

First published at 11:46, Monday, 20 September 2010
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk