Won 19, drawn 12, lost 0 - the remarkable form of Carlisle Utd's Nicky Adams

Nicky Adams, the home side's number 10, jogs to the sideline and is replaced by Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

A tight contest continues, but the change does not inspire the Cobblers to victory - for in the 85th minute, Conor Chaplin forces home Pompey's winner.

After the handshakes, Adams shares the pain of defeat with his team-mates in the Northampton dressing room, then goes home.

This being 10 months ago, it is perhaps not surprising that Adams' memory of the day has faded a little. Asked to recall that afternoon, the winger thought Northampton were actually winning the game when he was subbed by boss Chris Wilder.

Not quite. But they certainly weren't trailing.

"I was off the pitch when they [Pompey] scored the winner, so technically I didn't lose," Adams laughs. "But no - it's a team game. They were a good side and they put a bit of pressure on us, late on.

"And that's the last time I got beat."

Adams goes on to stress that his remarkable personal run - 31 league games since then without losing - is not as significant as the overall team form he has been involved in, first at the Sixfields Stadium and now with Carlisle United.

It is, though, fair to reflect on what is becoming a quite stunning feat. Since that Pompey defeat, Adams' league record reads: won 19, drawn 12, lost 0.

The only blotches on this sequence, which includes all of 2016 to date, have been a 3-0 FA Cup replay defeat at MK Dons in January, and United's EFL Cup penalty shoot-out exit at Derby in August.

Otherwise, invincible. And to find the last league game the 30-year-old completed as part of a beaten side, you need to go even further back: to October 17 last year, when Northampton lost 2-1 at Cambridge.

"It's not just about me," Adams protests. "I've said this before. I've been privileged to play in a great side last year, and another good one this year."

Every football fan knows the souring effect a defeat can have on a weekend; players and managers too. If Adams has barely had a single Sunday spoiled this year, no wonder he often seems the happiest of chaps.

"Yeah, of course," he says. "Although everyone who knows me knows I'm a happy-go-lucky person anyway. Don't get too high when you're up there, don't get too low when you lose.

"Believe it or not, though, I'm a bit of a bad loser."

Adams has certainly been a focal point for the statistically inclined of late. Last season one of League Two's leading assists men, some more figures popped up on Twitter last week displaying his formidable creative feats in 2016.

"Someone put on the tweet that I've got more than [Mesut] Ozil and [Dimitri] Payet," he smiles. "That was nice. But they're the top boys. I'm just enjoying my football."

United are enjoying having him, that is for sure, and with Adams on board the Blues have now made their longest ever unbeaten start to a league campaign.

The only question now is how far Keith Curle's second-placed team can extend their 14-game run. After the tight 2-1 win at Stevenage last Saturday there is now the visit of Crawley, one of Adams' former clubs.

Carlisle's players are united in saying this is no time to dwell. Yet Adams does not mind reflecting on their achievement, even when talking about the game-to-game qualities that have propelled Curle's side.

"Do you know what, it's brilliant," he says. "That record's been there a while, we equalled it last week, but we never took our foot off the pedal.

"It's just down to hard work. The gaffer has instilled that from day one. You can see the talent we've got in abundance, and we can also do the dirty side.

"To break a record that's stood for a long time, it's nice for everyone involved."

Adams, United's first summer signing, brought rich promotion experience with Northampton in May, Bury the season before, and Rotherham before that.

Anyone in the Blues squad unaccustomed to their current position need only turn to the winger, then, for a steer on how to maintain it.

"All I've said to the lads is it's just momentum, and you keep going," he says. "We had it last year [at Northampton] when we went into games. And we had it here on Saturday - even when we were 1-1, we didn't feel like we were in any trouble.

"There are going to be a few times when we have to dig in. But we take each game as it comes."

It is easy to see how the bubbly Adams would lift a dressing room even in testing times. When a team is on the rise he is just as naturally the life and soul.

But, as he says, this is a corporate effort. While Danny Grainger's penalty put Stevenage away, United's collective strength again appeared.

"I just think there's a unit all over," he says. "We're all drilled, we limited [Stevenage] to long shots and balls from deep into the box. They never really carved us open.

"We do work on it on the training ground. The gaffer has us doing it in units and we're really solid."

They also have a perfectionist attitude, according to Adams, even as they are smashing records.

"We're disappointed, in a way, because I think we've drawn games we should have won," he says.

"There's a lot of good teams in this league - but we're a good team as well. We believe in ourselves.

"It would be unbelievable to go all season unbeaten, but it's more likely there will be a time when we get beat. I'm sure we'll bounce back from that because the characteristics we've got in the group are really good.

"Next it's another tough game against Crawley, and hopefully the fans will come out like they did last week [against Hartlepool, which attracted 7,333] - and create a great atmosphere as always."

Adams played for United's next opponents from 2012 to 2014, making 82 appearances. His 14 goals for Crawley included one at Brunton Park in September 2012: a deflected effort which sealed a 2-0 away win.

"I give Mark [Gillespie] a bit of stick, saying I've put one past him before," he says. "But I really enjoyed it at Crawley - it was great for me.

"There's a good friend of mine still there, Mark Connolly - it will be good to see him. They're a good side and we won't be taking nothing for granted.

"That's one thing we've got - we work hard every day. And it's just enjoyable to play in. As a winger I don’t mind doing the dirty work. I know when we do that, I get the rewards when I get the ball and can go and run at people."

United's ability to hurdle different challenges has been on show in their last two games. Against Hartlepool they won despite Shaun Miller's red card and a persistent fightback from the away side. At Stevenage there was the period when some of Curle's side seemed to be losing control in the face of Nick Kinseley's inconsistent refereeing.

Adams, who was booked for dissent in that heated period, says: "It was a mad five minutes towards the end of the first half. There were bookings going [around] and the ref was seeing different things to us. That's his view on the game and we have to respect that.

"But it was a good time to go in, because we were a bit unsettled. The gaffer got us in and said, look, calm down, I'll deal with it - you just concentrate on playing - and I think you saw that in the second half."

During the interval Curle also apparently issued a threat to fine any player £500 if they were booked for dissent after the break. Thankfully no win bonuses were eaten into, and United were able to resume their unbeaten habits.

Now it's on to the next one, as players are fond of saying. It is not surprising, given how unaccustomed he is to losing, that Adams described his confidence as "sky-high", and ideally Carlisle will reap further rewards.

"I'm not the most vocal on the pitch, but I try to lead in my performances," Adams adds.

"The most important thing is to keep ourselves on a steady, even keel. The lads we've got in the dressing room are a good bunch - we do a lot of things together, we get on great.

"It's a fantastic run we're on. Hopefully we can continue it."

Adams' 31 unbeaten league games since December 19, 2015

Northampton:

Accrington - WIN

Barnet - WIN

Plymouth - WIN

Dagenham - WIN

Morecambe - WIN

York - WIN

Wycombe - WIN

York - WIN

Wimbledon - DRAW

Stevenage - WIN

Notts County - DRAW

Bristol Rovers - DRAW

Exeter - DRAW

Crawley - WIN

Yeovil - DRAW

Luton - WIN

Portsmouth - WIN

Carlisle:

Portsmouth - DRAW

Plymouth - WIN

Cheltenham - DRAW

Cambridge - DRAW

Barnet - WIN

Accrington - DRAW

Leyton Orient - DRAW

Blackpool - DRAW

Wycombe - WIN

Doncaster - DRAW

Colchester - WIN

Morecambe - WIN

Hartlepool - WIN

Stevenage - WIN