By Jon Colman

Last updated at 11:55, Monday, 09 November 2009

Carlisle United 2 Morecambe 2: Maybe they enjoy the coastal air. Perhaps it’s a liking for Christie Park’s famously succulent pies.

Vincent Pericard, left, rises to head home

There is probably a simpler answer, but you still can’t help seeking a deeper explanation for Carlisle United’s appetite for drawing football matches with Morecambe.

Prior to Saturday’s FA Cup face-off, Cumbrian blue and Lancashire red had collided four times in competitive games and been inseparable over the course of 90 minutes. The fifth stalemate duly rolled along, even after United had engineered a two-goal lead and were still in front when Morecambe’s ranks were cut to 10 men with the same number of minutes left on the clock.

So the seaside beckons, again, in eight days’ time, for a replay Greg Abbott would happily have done without, and which seemed a distant dot when Ian Harte’s bending free-kick nestled in the net via Vincent Pericard’s cranium in the 55th minute here.

Carlisle’s second goal ought to have propelled them into the second round without much trouble. What we saw instead was a mess of a final half-hour which allowed the visitors a route back into the tie, even allowing for Stewart Drummond’s dismissal (the midfielder taking his leave in the 80th minute for petulantly kicking at United’s debutant sub, Adam Clayton).

Apologies for reaching for a U2 reference so early in the piece, but one songtitle penned by the band which contains Clayton’s namesake fits Carlisle’s display like a glove: Vertigo. It was as though United got themselves into a position of uncommon authority, then looked down and got the jitters, leading to problems which weren’t there before.

Phil Jevons and Mark Duffy took gleeful advantage of the Cumbrian shakes and the result is another awkward midweek match bolted onto the fixture list. “I’d rather be playing Manchester United next Tuesday, if I’m honest,” said Abbott, who couldn’t have better summed up the tangle of contradictions that his team remains this autumn.

Chase Charlton Athletic out of town one weekend, stumble to an unsatisfying draw with Morecambe the next. Go figure. “It proves that the players have got to stick to the game plan I give them,” added a clearly irked Abbott. “If you veer off that, you will get problems whoever you play. If you do things right, you’ve got a chance.”

The Carlisle manager’s main gripe was that his side had not put a sufficiently high price on their possession at the times when Morecambe were attempting to fight their way back into this tie from an unpromising position. He also felt the need to turn the water cannon of his displeasure on United’s sub-standard corner kicks and a low quality of delivery from wide areas.

Another grumble to stick on the list is the disappointingly low number of occasions when the home side took aim at Barry Roche’s target after the break, even allowing for the time when Morecambe’s goalkeeper extended himself to stunning effect to deny Joe Anyinsah a 95th minute winner.

Having said all that, perspective still gets its hearing today. For one thing, Carlisle still have the chance to remedy this result, a luxury denied to such as Hartlepool, Shrewsbury and Charlton, who were among the sides tipped out of the English game’s most evocative competition by lower-ranked rivals. For another, a pre-match parade of local soldiers - some back from Iraq and Afghanistan, some preparing to enter those perilous lands - reminded us that hurling away a two-goal lead to Morecambe in the cup isn’t the most arduous of life’s experiences.

It had all started brightly enough, with Carlisle seemingly in the mood to take advantage of their visitors’ limitations. In filthy conditions, the opening goal ought to have arrived after just 11 minutes, when Scott Dobie challenged Neil Wainwright on the edge of the box and the ball broke perfectly for Pericard, but the Frenchman was denied by the upstanding Roche, who then repelled Kevan Hurst’s follow-up effort.

Morecambe briefly stirred, with an off-target header from Jevons, but United generally remained in command, as Pericard’s bulk repeatedly posed problems for the League Two team’s defence. United eventually struck when Wainwright clambered on Matty Robson, Graham Kavanagh bent over a fine free-kick from the left and Harte clinically claimed his sixth strike of the season. How the Blues have been boosted by the ex-Leeds man’s nose for goal this campaign.

If Carlisle appeared the superior force, they were not necessarily outclassing the Shrimps at every turn. When Sammy McIlroy’s team found their passing range they became more testing opponents. From one red surge, a cross found its way to Wainwright at the back post, requiring Harte to make a vital block. United’s own forays tended to come down the right, where Hurst and Richard Keogh were linking well, but often foundered on some wasteful corner deliveries from the former.

A rash of penalty-box action brought the first half to a close: Hurst setting up Robson before the winger was tackled; Paul Mullin testing Lenny Pidgeley from range at the other end; Keogh crossing for Pericard, who was unable to twist and shoot; and Drummond rumbling through midfield and shooting narrowly off-target.

The prevailing sense was that another Carlisle goal would get the tie in the can. That feeling persisted when Laurence Wilson upended Keogh in the 55th minute and Harte’s inswinging set-piece was nodded home at the near post by Pericard.

It was at this point that Carlisle rejected the smooth path to victory and instead swerved off down the scenic route for the remainder of the action. As United’s rhythm deserted them, back came McIlroy’s men. The wily Jevons put a cross on Mullin’s toe, but Pidgeley stood strong. Jevons then belted a 30-yard free-kick down the United ‘keeper’s throat. Next, he took more successful aim, smacking an impressive volley in off the crossbar after Carlisle had struggled to clear a Craig Stanley corner.

A bold double substitution from the Morecambe manager gave their fightback even more impetus. One of the replacements, Michael Twiss, almost sneaked a leveller but was thwarted by Danny Livesey after Jevons’ cute pass. We then saw Tom Taiwo’s afternoon end prematurely with a shin injury, and the United man was quickly followed down the tunnel by Drummond, whose lamentable kick at Clayton (Taiwo’s replacement) was in the direct gaze of the referee, Andy Haines.

No matter; Morecambe were undeterred. After Robson had skimmed a cross just out of the reach of Carlisle’s strikers, their unheralded opponents took their equaliser. First a Keogh run was dismantled in the Shrimps’ half, then they pressed downfield and worked the ball to Duffy, who raced away from Kavanagh in midfield and aimed a 25-yarder past Pidgeley’s dive.

Cue Carlisle’s startled response: a hurling of bodies back into Morecambe territory, a late chance for Pericard who was unable to poke in a shot, and an even later opportunity for substitute Anyinsah, who fastened onto the Frenchman’s cut-back and was brilliantly denied by the sprawling Roche, whose gutsy efforts under fire had come to define his team’s day.

“You have to give Morecambe credit - they deserved something out of the game,” concurred Abbott, who must again try and conjure a victory against these Lancashire pests a week tomorrow for the right to host Norwich in round two. The best advice from this end is to hang the recession and stick your life savings on another draw.

LENNY PIDGELEY - Looked confident throughout but might have done better with Morecambe’s equaliser.

RICHARD KEOGH - Continues to impress at right-back, although decision-making in final third not always precise.

EVAN HORWOOD - Defended strongly and used the ball well, the ex-Gretna man was among Carlisle’s most impressive players.

DANNY LIVESEY - Tough performance from the skipper, who made several important blocks and interceptions.

IAN HARTE - Pounced for his third goal in four games and was generally steady at the heart of United’s defence.

TOM TAIWO - Midfield tackling remains a crucial part of United’s game, even if this wasn’t among his most eyecatching days.

GRAHAM KAVANAGH - Expert delivery for Harte’s opener, and remained industrious throughout.

MATTY ROBSON - Kept trying to make things happen down left but final ball wasn’t always there.

KEVAN HURST - Linked well at times with Keogh but delivery was generally below-par.

SCOTT DOBIE - Plenty of effort alongside Pericard but little end product from the Cumbrian on this occasion.

VINCENT PERICARD - Claimed his second Blues goal and his bulk gave Morecambe’s defenders problems, but couldn’t finish other chances.

Subs: Joe Anyinsah (for Hurst, 68) - Almost won it at death; Adam Clayton (for Taiwo, 75) Combative debut. Not used: Adam Collin, Marc Bridge-Wilkinson, Peter Murphy, Richard Offiong, Tony Kane.

Goals: Harte 21, Pericard 55

Morecambe: Roche, Adams (Duffy 71), Bentley, Parrish, Wilson, Stanley, Hunter, Drummond, Wainwright (Twiss 71), Mullin, Jevons. Not used: Moss, Curtis, Davies, Craney, McStay.

Goals: Jevons 70, Duffy 85

Booked: Wainwright, Wilson, Hunter

Sent off: Drummond

Ref: Andy Haines (Tyne & Wear)

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First published at 11:34, Monday, 09 November 2009
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk