“It was a bit chaotic,” said Morgan Feeney with a nice line in understatement. “There was a lot going on...”
As descriptions of Carlisle United’s game at Tranmere Rovers, it only just fits the bill. The Blues’ frenzied 2-2 draw at Prenton Park also happened to see Feeney with the captain’s armband, and it was the defender who came back down the tunnel afterwards - when all was calm - to interpret the madness.
As he had led United, Feeney also spoke; with a confident assurance which was at odds with much of what had just happened: four goals, two red cards, a dust-up involving a great many players and, naturally, a 98th-minute goal for the Cumbrians.
“We had to stay composed, go about our business and try to leave all of that,” said Feeney of the melee and the hot tempers arising from Calum MacDonald’s first-half dismissal for Tranmere.
“With them having ten men we knew we’d have a lot more of the ball and that we’d need to stay resolute at the back. They’re a good side and getting a draw in the manner we did was really pleasing.”
The manner they did. Ah yes, the manner: Tobi Sho-Silva getting his head on a rebound eight minutes past the 90, sparking more last-gasp celebrations in front of a surging away end.
As Sho-Silva toasted his goal, a figure in a blue coat materialised alongside him: Feeney’s fellow defender Dynel Simeu, who had been substituted a while earlier but tore back onto the pitch to reach the scorer first.
READ MORE: Carlisle United's Paul Simpson hails 'bravery' of Tobi Sho-Silva after equaliser at Tranmere Rovers
“I think Greg [Short, United’s fitness coach] said he [Simeu] set a new high speed record the way he got across the pitch and it was the quickest he moved all game,” laughed Feeney.
😅 Here’s a wider angle of @TobiSho_’s goal so you can fully appreciate the effort @dynel_simeu went to so he could get involved in the celebrations 💙 #cufc pic.twitter.com/bbKdjvxtEI
— Carlisle United FC (@officialcufc) April 3, 2022
“It was brilliant and that’s what it means to us all. I’m surprised he had any legs to get across the pitch, but it was great to see.”
Amid the carnage at the Wirral, there was also, United felt, poetic justice that their equaliser came so late. A few minutes beforehand, some Tranmere fans had booted the ball high up the stand to waste time.
Hence 98 minutes, not 96. “I was talking to the ref about that and he said the clock had stopped,” Feeney said. “That’s all he can do in that situation. It’s good to one-up them at the end when they think they’re getting away with it doing that…”
As the temperature lowers, a couple of days on, it is possible to look at United’s result in the raw: a good point against a promotion-chaser. That Tranmere played half the game with ten men, and the last few moments with nine, means there must be a degree of frustration that Carlisle failed to make it three, and very nearly left with nothing.
The spirit that led them to the latest late goal among several under Paul Simpson, though, could not be denied either. It made their survival cushion 13 points and, all in all, was another step towards the safety that seemed highly uncertain only six weeks ago.
“We’re delighted to get a point in the end because we had to really work hard and fight for it,” Feeney said. “To score it late in front of your own fans a lot sweeter.
“When you talk about fighting spirit I’d like to think we’re showing that. It just shows what we are as a group and if it wasn’t to be [in this game] we’d have been really disappointed. It did feel like it was coming and thankfully it did.”
The game’s huge flashpoint came late in the first half. It saw four players booked, plus both managers, and it took quite some time for things to come back under control.
It also set United the challenge of keeping cool and trying to make the circumstances work for them in the second half. “It’s very easy to lose it a bit when the crowd picks up for them, and when it gets a bit hostile,” Feeney said. That’s when you have to try to wear teams down a little bit and be patient.
READ MORE: In pictures: dramatic scenes as Carlisle United grab a point at Tranmere Rovers!
“I thought we did that, and we created a few chances that on another day would have been put away. It wasn’t happening early doors and we just had to wait until late on to get that goal.”
As ref Charles Breakspear lavished yellow cards here and there following the ruckus, Feeney was one of the recipients. He raised a perplexed eyebrow when asked about this.
“I’ve got no idea why I was booked. The ref wouldn’t tell me. I asked him a few times, and he told me at the end to come and see him in his room, but I thought I’d come out here instead [and talk to the media]…
“I’m still none the wiser because it felt like I was trying to calm things down, to be honest, and I think he was just picking people and booking them. It didn’t turn into anything else so it’s ok.”
What is more than ok is Feeney’s form and his rising status at Brunton Park. His battling defensive performances are turning him into a fan favourite – the sound of his surname being sung by supporters is increasingly common now – while last week he won a League Two fans’ player of the month vote.
These are excellent steps for a young player who has an enviable background and reputation from his grounding with Everton, but whose more recent path before this season had been injury-hit, with Sunderland and initially Carlisle.
Now he is showing his potential, his pedigree. Simpson entrusting him with the captaincy on Saturday, with Callum Guy injured and Corey Whelan benched, felt a natural move.
“It was obviously a proud moment for me, and when I found out earlier in the day at the meeting I was delighted,” he said. “You can’t really dwell on things like that – you’ve just got to take it on board and do your job. But I was made up with it.”
Feeney was close to perplexed when asked to put his player of the month honour into words, meanwhile. “That was a strange one as well. I’m delighted with it, but it came out of the blue. Thank you very much to the people who voted, and I don’t really know what to say because I’m not used to things like this…”
There appears a grounded modesty about Feeney when individual accolades are mentioned – likewise his growing popularity with United’s faithful, who on Saturday sang “Feeneeeeeey” several times.
“I’m really enjoying playing at the moment and the fans have been brilliant with me,” he said. “I don’t know who I owe a couple of pints to for singing my name but it gives you a really good feeling when you’re playing. I can’t thank them enough.”
United have six games left to seal survival, but chances are they will get over the line sooner. Six wins and a draw from nine under Simpson represents decisive form when it was most needed.
Like the manager, though, Feeney was not one for assuming the task is over.
“The only way we see it is that we have to win every game that we can,” said the former England youth defender. “That’s how we go into every game. We aren’t playing for draws, or anything like that, and that’s how it will carry on. That’s our only thought at the moment.
“Our results have been good lately, even though we’ve had a couple of losses, but we still want to win as many games as we can. We want three points from every game we go into at the moment.
“We’re thinking about the next game already now and all we’re thinking about is winning. We want points and good performances, that’s all we care about.”
Feeney himself has experienced injury-time heroism for the Blues with that winning header at Oldham last month. The way it keeps happening, dramatically in front of those supporters, appears telling in terms of what this season was, and what it now is.
“It makes it even sweeter when the fans are all there, thousands of them, or however many there was,” Feeney said. “It’s moments like that you live for as a footballer.”
READ MORE: Tranmere Rovers 2-2 Carlisle United verdict: You can't take your eyes off these last-gasp Blues
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