by Alfie Irving
Pre-Match
The day started off with a 9am wake up and some toast and a cup of tea to get myself ready for the day ahead. I had tried to secure tickets for the Blackpool game on the 28th November but the whole 1,997 allocation sold out to season ticket holders. Unfortunately, due to being away at university, I don’t have a season ticket. This meant that I wasn’t able to be there, but I was still really excited about supporting the boys from home and hoping for a crucial three points.
In the build-up to the game, in order to get myself prepared, I listened to The Brunton Bugle podcast. This allowed me to become well versed with Blackpool and hear fellow fans’ thoughts prior to the game
Then 2pm rolled around and I was slightly shocked, as most Carlisle fans were at the absence of Jordan Gibson from the line-up. However, I remained optimistic about us taking a point back to Cumbria.
Yet, in reality, I was expecting a tough game with Blackpool lying in 8th position in the league prior to the game and Carlisle lying in 22nd. This combined with an injury depleted Carlisle squad coming off the back of a 5-1 defeat away to Reading, who are one of two sides currently below Carlisle, the Tuesday previous, meant that there was a clear distinction in level between the two sides.
The match
I was able to follow the game through watching Sky Sports Live Scores, as well as keeping an eye on the clubs’ X account. I used FotMob’s live ticker feature to see the action and patterns of play.
This allowed me to keep an eye out on other scores in games around Carlisle too, as every point matters in the relegation battle that we find ourselves in.
The game seemed evenly poised in the early stages, but as the game progressed Blackpool controlled the ball and had the chances. The Tangerines seemed to get a grasp of the terrible conditions on the seaside better than the Cumbrians.
This transpired in the coming minutes with Blackpool taking the lead in the 22nd minute courtesy of Andy Lyons notching his first of the season. A ball that wasn’t dealt with properly by Carlisle keeper, Tomas Holy, was calmly slotted away by the Irishman.
Chances were at a premium in the first half, particularly for the Cumbrians who didn’t muster a shot in the whole of the first half.
I didn’t feel particularly confident going into the second half, particularly with the Blues’ record away from home being so poor.
My worst fears were proven right, when Jordan Rhodes was quickest onto a loose ball after a superb save from Holy, and the Tangerines were 2-0 up and well clear of the Blues.
My reaction to Blackpool’s second goal
Nobody could argue that it wasn’t what Blackpool had deserved and as Paul Simpson stated in his post-match comments there was a clear gulf in quality between the two teams.
The introductions of Jordan Gibson, Jack Armer and Sean Maguire provided a positive spark for Carlisle after the second goal, and this led to a decent spell from the Cumbrians.
Big chances arose for Alfie McCalmont in the 79th minute and Gibson in the 84th minute but neither were able to put them away.
Blackpool put the game beyond any doubt in the 95th minute, when Rhodes capitalised on Ben Barclay’s loose back pass and slotted past Holy with assurance and put Blackpool 3-0 up and out of sight.
Post-Match
My immediate thoughts on the game
I then tuned into Paul Simpson’s post-match interview. This certainly caused some discussion amongst Carlisle fans.
Simpson felt like he had been unfairly treated by a section of the travelling fans, indicating that there had been expletives and gestures thrown his way.
After a game that was already painful enough viewing, this is exactly what we didn’t need.
It is going to be a long road ahead to January with such a weak squad, however at this time unity between players and fans is vital if we want to achieve safety.