Plymouth Argyle 2 Carlisle Utd 0: What concerns you most about Carlisle United's worst losing run of the season is the way they have got out of good habits and picked up so many bad ones. This self-inflicted defeat shone a light on the latter, and left them clinging onto third place by their fingernails.

Portsmouth being Portsmouth, losing at home to Crewe, the Blues remain in the automatic promotion zone even after three straight losses. If Pompey sort themselves out at Crawley tomorrow night, though, United will dip below that line for the first time since October 1.

If they are indeed overtaken, the reasons for them falling back into the chasing pack will stack up. Last Tuesday, Cheltenham's pitch was blamed while here, a questionable decision to disallow a Reggie Lambe goal for offside came under scrutiny.

But nor are United helping themselves, by a fair chalk. At Whaddon Road they were sterile and their next performance in the West Country collapsed like a cheap Cornish pastie after Luke Joyce helped Plymouth into a 21st minute lead.

It is never enjoyable to see such a good pro err this badly. But United simply cannot afford such dreadful mistakes in big games like this, at the business end especially.

Joyce, whose square pass was intercepted by Argyle scorer Graham Carey, was substituted 10 minutes later, and again it wasn't an easy watch as the midfielder first realised his number was going up, and then made an ashen-faced departure.

From that opening goal, an even and well-contested game went increasingly Plymouth's way. A 45th-minute penalty then gave them insurance against a United comeback, not that it truly looked like coming. The Blues did not do enough to endanger Derek Adams' defence in the second half and it all meant the day's one real plus - Danny Grainger's capable 90-minute return to the side - became a footnote.

Plymouth, winless in four before this, looked like a promotion contender restored as they rediscovered some fluency. Matty Kennedy, for instance, was displaying some of the front-foot wing play that Carlisle's travelling fans needed to see from the likes of Nicky Adams at the other end.

In fairness to Adams, he did his best to find a way back. But while United had devoured his service in their best spells of 2016/17, here they failed to read his efforts. They looked ineffective as a result, also rather ordinary in midfield, while the wait for a clean-sheet (October 8, still) is simply not the sort of statistic that promotions are built on.

This, then, is a situation that will require serious skill from Curle and his staff. After the game United's manager suggested some people inside Brunton Park are still not his biggest fans and will, alarmingly, be "enjoying" the fact he has just presided over three losses in eight days.

As the "billionaire" investment saga continues to irritate fans, that was another hint that unity is not what it should be at a club with designs on glory in two months' time.

Somehow, with 11 games left, they need to harness what harmony there is and dig out a win that could still restore the previous, positive tone. They also need to isolate the good things they produced in a decent first 20 minutes here, which saw Adams attacking friendly space on the left, back in harness with Grainger.

A couple of inventive moves on that side punched holes in Plymouth, but twice the offside flag intervened. There was no debate about Jamie Proctor's position when he nodded home a deflected Mike Jones shot, but United were bemused a minute later when Adams tormented Oscar Threlkeld and saw his cross headed expertly home by Lambe - only for that flag to rise again.

The Bermudan had appeared to time his run, and his rise, perfectly well. On such moments can anxious games spin. Here, Plymouth were encouraged to build some better attacks, testing Carlisle's strength in their box, and Ryan Taylor gave them a scare when landing a header on Mark Gillespie's crossbar.

An end-to-end contest was opening up, Carlisle's Adams an inch away from picking out Lambe on the break, and no real sign of either team pulling clear of the other until Joyce, passing to his right, was easily intercepted by Carey, who then swept onto Taylor's pass and beat Gillespie.

You could feel the spirits slump in the away seats, and while United tried to respond, they were now in an avoidable position. Gillespie saved superbly from Carey's next free-kick and then Joyce was hooked, one team-mate offering him a sympathetic pat as Jamie Devitt removed his bib.

The weather was switching between sunny and torrential, but Carlisle's mood now reflected the latter. Jakub Sokolik nearly gave Adams a gift in the Argyle box but the Green Army marched on with greater purpose, Gillespie saving at Jervis' feet, Devitt blocking from Kennedy, and then on 45 minutes Shaun Brisley penalised for his jump with Taylor in the box.

Jake Jervis arrowed the penalty home and that made an urgent half-time talk even more daunting for Curle, who sent on Jabo Ibehre for Lambe and saw the big striker in the thick of some early six-yard box action after the break - but without joy, as a couple of penalty shouts were ignored by Mark Heywood but Ibehre's handball wasn't, as he forced the ball high into the net for United's third disallowed goal.

Curle felt Plymouth sought a few too many decisions from the referee as things went on - Brisley's battles with Taylor a recurring issue - but his team did not respond to their deficit with enough confidence or style. James Bailey's attempt, curling wide from the D, was a rare foray that encouraged.

Otherwise Plymouth absorbed United's halting efforts and nearly replied with better themselves. Kennedy was denied a penalty as Tom Miller gave chase, Antoni Sarcevic fired one over and, as Blues fans retreated a few rows to escape the slanting rain, the former Carlisle loanee Jervis skimmed the bar with a great effort from long distance.

United in the autumn were a side for whom no cause was lost, but this one rarely looked like being turned. Ibehre, volleying a Grainger cross over the bar, got on the end of a couple of things, but when an Adams centre evaded red shirts close to goal you knew which way things were heading.

Home, in the case of some of the travelling 326, who were serenaded with a burst of "cheerio" from the Plymouth faithful as they left before the end. It was a testing enough journey back to Cumbria for those unhappy few without staying for the final, empty minutes.

They had done their bit just by being there. Let us simply hope the task of getting United back into proper shape, after these eight bad days, is not a similarly long haul.