Unrest off the pitch as Carlisle Utd fall to high-fliers

But still. When the final home game of an improved season results in some of the rebellious chanting Brunton Park heard on Saturday, one cannot help wondering what will happen next, in this simmering quarrel between owners and supporters.

Certainly the men at the top of Carlisle United may be relieved the stadium's next big occasion is a Rod Stewart gig, not a football match. Little chance of Rod walking to his microphone and bellowing: "We want Nixon out," one assumes.

Yet there is a feeling that this stand-off won't be entirely healed by a quiet summer. As Oxford showed United the way forward on the pitch, things in the stand took a heated turn, and among the last abiding memories of a Carlisle home game in 2015/16 will be the way it spilled over at the start of the second half.

One fan, who had vented his spleen at John Nixon and his boardroom colleagues as half-time approached, was having his collar felt some 15 minutes later, forcibly removed from the Paddock whilst Keith Curle's team were trying to reverse a 1-0 deficit.

United said the supporter had been warned about foul language but had declined to "tone down" his conduct. Some on the terrace did not agree with his ejection by safety staff and police (who had filmed the earlier episode), and applauded the struggling man on his way.

From here, a pocket of people directly below the directors' box, along with a few in the main stand, went through a pointed repertoire. "Sack the board," "Where's our billionaire?," "You're supposed to be a fan," and the anti-Nixon ditty were aired, the latter at noticeable volume. Steven Pattison, another owner who had apparently been involved in the half-time investigation, was welcomed back to his seat with an unprintable word.

Dean Walling and Rod Thomas, a pair of 1990s icons who were guests for the day, probably didn't know where to look, while one wonders what Timmy Mallett, Oxford's celebrity fan who had cycled to the game, made of the curious unrest.

The chap who didn't get to see half the game will inevitably be regarded as a martyr by those who share his opinion on how Carlisle are being run. Whatever United's reasons for removing him, it must be apparent that he was not waging a one-man cause. This poses a mighty public relations problem for the club's rulers, after a horrendous news week which first saw the supporters' representative resign, upset at being accused of a confidentiality breach, and then a vice-president quit over some abhorrent tweets about the Hillsborough disaster.

"It's not nice to hear. It does affect you," said Curle afterwards, about the chants. United's boss conceded that these events would "make the headlines", and said he intended to improve supporter spirits by building a better side next season.

Whether or not that is all the healing that is needed, it must be said that Oxford are, as Curle predicted beforehand, a good yardstick for matters on the grass. If the manager is able to locate a Liam Sercombe, or a Callum O'Dowda in the market this summer, for instance, United's prospects will improve greatly.

If he can shape United into a counter-attacking team as sharp, so much the better. It is not necessarily that Michael Appleton's side had everything their own way - there was a time in the second half when Carlisle seemed set to batter in an equaliser - but the way they often zipped up the pitch was superior to the Blues' own attacking ideas.

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Two goals were enough to cheer a buoyant 2,283-strong yellow army, who had feasted on free hot-dogs, laid on by their chairman, before the game - even though their victory wasn't quite enough for promotion (next weekend will settle the race).

They led from the fourth minute, not long after their streamers had been tidied away from the goalmouth at the Waterworks End. Carlisle's 3-5-2 system was snapped open as a free-kick faltered and the visitors broke, Danny Hylton spinning away from Danny Grainger, O'Dowda feeding Chris Maguire, Mark Ellis tripping the midfielder, and Maguire scoring from the penalty spot.

Some scuffling broke out in another section of the Paddock as Oxford celebrated with abandon. As the opening stages continued, their movement was fast and sometimes dizzying, Hylton and O'Dowda missing decent chances as Carlisle grasped for control.

Eventually the Blues, for whom Patrick Brough was making a first start since November, found a more competent rhythm, but they were unable to create clear-cut chances, Luke Joyce shooting wide from 25 yards, Grainger failing with a couple of free-kicks and Jason Kennedy denied by Jake Wright.

Oxford were more cutting. Johnny Ruffles wasted a good chance after O'Dowda and Alex MacDonald had again sliced open United's left, and MacDonald and O'Dowda cursed their lack of precision when they again outnumbered the Blues. O'Dowda, dropping into pockets, worked more opportunities, slicing wide after evading Grainger in the box.

A Carlisle side with more devil about it might have punished this waste, but their best enterprise before the break saw the bounding diagonal run of Alex McQueen fail by inches to meet Joyce's creative ball forward. McQueen, again, caught the eye as the second half developed, after the off-field hoo-ha and a double substitution by Curle, as he took off Brough and Brandon Comley, sent on Alex Gilliead and Jack Stacey and rearranged into a safer-looking 4-4-2.

Oxford, with left-back Joe Skarz also withdrawn, were given more to think about by United's young bucks, and after a near miss when Maguire charged down a Mark Gillespie clearance, there was a phase of pressure downfield that could well have told, as Appleton's side became a shade more anxious.

Stacey had a couple of sighters, and Carlisle's passing grew crisper, Gilliead adding some purpose on the left. The Newcastle loanee had United's best chance, put through by Charlie Wyke, but keeper Benji Buchel sped from his line to save.

Then the door was rapped again. A Grainger cross that seemed to strike Jonjo Kenny's arm only led to a corner, ref Phil Gibbs convinced by the Oxford man's clutching of his face. The resulting set-piece was headed by Tom Miller, half-cleared, returned by Joyce, and cleared off the line by a yellow defender.

There will have been some relief, then, in these promotion-chasers' minds when their next attack saw the crucial second. O'Dowda was at the heart of things as he slipped the ball right to midfielder Sercombe, whose low shot drilled underneath Gillespie.

That was sufficient for one of the country's most effective away teams. Sub Jordan Bowery, who helped stretch United in the closing stages, was denied by Carlisle's keeper, while Sercombe shot wide after a move started when Che Dunkley, the big centre-half, shrugged off Jabo Ibehre in a manner that rather summed up the United striker's ineffective path in 2016.

When Ibehre was lashing Carlisle to victory against Notts County in December, and the club was absorbing post-flood goodwill, all things looked possible. Now their home campaign ends rather bitterly, to the sound of gunfire in a civil war that is, perhaps, a few days closer.

MARK GILLESPIE - Sent the wrong way by Maguire from the spot, claimed a few crosses well but kicking was far from polished, while Sercombe beat the keeper at his near post.

TOM MILLER - Used in a centre-half role, the defender took a while to adjust to Oxford's counter-attacking speed. Made a few last-ditch challenges, while winning his share in visitors' box.

DANNY GRAINGER - Free-kick skills let him down in first half, while Oxford's quick thinking on right had Grainger chasing. More effective after break with some good deliveries, but below his best overall.

MARK ELLIS - Conceded early penalty that put United adrift, afterwards did his best to restrain Appleton's quick-running forwards as they pulled Blues around. Some last-ditch defending kept Blues alive, but distribution below par.

ALEX MCQUEEN - Was often involved in Carlisle's best work, especially when United emerged from early Oxford pressure. The ex-Spurs man showed pace and purpose down right and is ending season well.

PATRICK BROUGH - On his first start for five months, Brough found it hard going against a dangerous side, though United's tactical approach was not working until second-half reshuffle, by which time the young Cumbrian had been replaced.

BRANDON COMLEY - At times the QPR youngster got stuck in and harried Appleton's midfielders, but the visitors were still able to break too easily in first half and Comley was caught in possession at times.

LUKE JOYCE - On a day when United met a superior opponent, who were often too sharp for United's midfield, Joyce at least did not shy from the contest, showing for the ball and looking to help Carlisle make progress.

JASON KENNEDY - Combative as usual, and his graft was a feature of United's best second-half spell, but Oxford were elusive when it mattered as they broke through midfield and out wide.

CHARLIE WYKE - The better of Carlisle's forward line, as Wyke battled to hold the ball up and link play, especially with Gilliead after break, but enjoyed no real chances of note himself.

JABO IBEHRE - Nowhere near as influential as he was earlier in the season. For all the big striker's efforts, Oxford dealt with him fairly comfortably, and a personal campaign that started memorably is very much fizzling out.

Subs: Jack Stacey (for Coley 46) - Added some drive. 6; Alex Gilliead (for Brough 46) - Lively, and one great chance. 6; Derek Asamoah (for Wyke 83) - Late outing for injured Wyke. 6. Not used: Dan Hanford, David Atkinson, Martin Smith, Antony Sweeney.

Booked: Miller

Oxford United: Buchel, Kenny, Skarz, Wright, Dunkley, Ruffels, Sercombe, MacDonald (Bowery 72), O'Dowda, Hylton (Waring 84), Maguire. Subs: Slocombe, Lundstram, Long, Roberts.

Goals: Maguire 4 pen, Sercombe 73

Booked: Maguire, Wright

Ref: Philip Gibbs (West Midlands)

Crowd: 6,948 (2,283 Oxford fans)