Carlisle United coach on Whitehaven Miners Social cup tie

A Blues side full of first-team pros won 13-0 against their part-time opponents from Whitehaven Miners Social.

Carlisle opted to give game time to a string of fringe men rather than involve a host of youngsters against their west Cumbrian visitors.

The result was a heavy victory which took United into the county senior cup final for the first time in five years.

“Since the manager [Paul Simpson] has come back he’s done it like this,” said assistant manager Skelton of the strong XI that represented the Blues.

“He’s a Cumbrian fella and respects the competition, and he’s done it right through. Over the years we’ve always treated the cup with the respect it deserves.

• Match report: United's pros hit 13 against part-time Miners in county cup semi

“It was a professional job. It was pleasing that the lads went about it in the right way. These can be difficult games but we approached it in the right way – they did themselves as professional footballers proud, really, in the way they respected the game, respected the competition, respected the opposition and tried to do things correctly in the 90 minutes.

“It was an honest performance. They’re professional footballers and it’s their duty to go out and be professional, and they were.

“We spoke about being respectful, keeping good standards, making right decisions. Sometimes being ultra-critical, when we got into that final third that final decision or being wasteful missing the target, which is nit-picking when you win 13-0, but you always look for little improvements.

“But the way we approached it and our attitude was first class.”

Dan Butterworth was one of three United players to score a hat-trick against their west Cumbrian opponents (Image: Barbara Abbott)

The game saw hat-tricks for Alfie McCalmont, Dan Butterworth and Sean Maguire, while there was also a brace for Fin Back plus goals from Jayden Harris and Jack Robinson.

There was no let-up in United’s attacking against their Cumberland County League Premier Division opponents.

• Carlisle United 13-0 Whitehaven Miners Social - as it happened

Asked how much the Blues could take from such a mismatch, Skelton added to the News & Star: “Standards.

“The players want to be involved on a Saturday in the first team but anyone who was here saw they approached this in the right way.

“They were making sure they were getting the work done, when we scored they were getting the sprints in to get back…in terms of their attitude and application, first class.

“[In terms of the team selection], you treat the players with respect in that if a few of them are going to play, they all play.

“Don’t get me wrong, we were wasteful in possession at times, and also in front of goal, which sounds silly when you’ve scored 13 goals, but you want those standards all the time.

“You can go right through everyone – they all went about it right and that is the biggest thing coming from the game, the attitude and application.”

Skelton was also complimentary to Gareth Messenger’s Miners side in the way they went about the tie.

“I hope, in spite of the score, Whitehaven in some way enjoyed the night,” added Skelton.

“They were really respectful when they came, and they were respectful in how they approached the game, how they tried to play out from the back, how they kept going.

“They made some good blocks, the keeper made some good saves, and I’ve been involved in games where it can get a bit physical but did they get close to doing that? No – so they were as respectful to the competition as we were to them.”

The game was watched by a crowd of 520 in Brunton Park’s Main Stand, and Skelton added: “Hopefully it was an enjoyable evening for everybody, without the stresses and trials and tribulations of the [League One] season so far. It’s nice for a short period but the main focus of course is the league on Saturday.”