Carlisle United fought back for a 3-3 draw against Rochdale on Saturday – but what did we learn from the game?
Let’s take a closer look…
1 FALSE STARTS
Of their six league games so far, Carlisle have conceded the first goal in four.
While it’s to their credit that only one of those has ended in defeat, the way the Blues are starting games does warrant some inspection.
In all four of those games, United have found themselves behind by the 22nd minute at the latest.
Saturday, against Rochdale, was a poor offering until at least the half-hour mark, at which point things did improve.
Yet the impetus with which Carlisle began their very first match of the season, against Crawley Town, isn’t quite there at the moment.
It’s true that Paul Simpson has had to make changes aplenty, at a cost of consistency and momentum.
At the same time, the manager himself admitted figuring out these faulty starts is something he needs to devote some brain time to.
On the flipside, meanwhile, there is…
2 FIGHTING SPIRIT
While Carlisle started badly, there was no denying their ability, and willingness, to right the wrongs on Saturday.
United were a better bet for the changes Simpson made in the second half, switching to a back four, sending Jamie Devitt into the action, pushing Jordan Gibson wide and changing their angles of attack against a Rochdale side unaccustomed to consolidating a two-goal lead.
And, for all the discontent at the way Carlisle slipped into those 3-1 arrears, there was still a real life force about Brunton Park when the Blues came back via Kristian Dennis and Paul Huntington’s goals.
It meant United propped up their unbeaten home record in the league this season, and the fact they ended a wait of 16 months to score three in a league game was also a plus.
Could you imagine Carlisle coming back from two down last season? Well, they did it once – against Scunthorpe United in mid-September – but otherwise the sort of spirit shown in Saturday’s final half-hour was not often on show in those paltry spells of 2021/22.
This is the best aspect of what Simpson has nurtured since returning. Marry it to a more coherent way of starting games, and United will be onto something.
3 DEFENSIVE DECISIONS
Any game where you ship three at home – especially against the division’s bottom side – brings obvious questions to the table.
Again, it can be said that Carlisle’s rearguard line-up on Saturday was the first time those particular individuals had played together.
A little patience may be required for all concerned to knit together and figure out the right balance.
On paper, Morgan Feeney, Paul Huntington and Jon Mellish looks a very good combination in that central defensive three.
While you could see their strengths on Saturday – Huntington is going to leave very little to chance as an aerial competitor or organiser/leader, for example – Carlisle were still unpicked three times by Jim Bentley’s side.
Predominantly this came from counter-attacks which, especially with the second and third goals, saw the Blues’ defenders outgunned by visiting attackers Scott Quigley, Devante Rodney and Tyrese Sinclair.
When United lost the ball for those two goals, Carlisle’s defenders were occupying a higher line than they were able to cope with as Bentley’s men swarmed forward.
There is enough quality, and experience, in those ranks to figure things out. At the same time, they’ll need better help than they got from those upfield in Saturday’s most damaging situations.
4 SET-PIECE DANGER
One area where Carlisle have been flawed in recent seasons is in attacking set-pieces.
That seems to have changed for the better this campaign, and is something Simpson’s side can very much build on as things go on.
Two of Saturday’s goals came from corners and it was also significant that all three of those centre-halves – Mellish, Feeney and Huntington – were involved in the making and taking of them.
If you want to leave your mark on League Two, don’t leave home without some sort of diverse aerial threat from set-pieces.
Carlisle seem to have that now, and Owen Moxon’s floated deliveries are of impressive standard too.
The former Annan Athletic man is now on four assists in all competitions, and it will really help Carlisle for opponents to know that, at dead balls, they are much more alive than they were before.
5 WORKS IN PROGRESS
Paul Simpson was keen, after the game, to stress that United are not the finished article - and that they were never likely to be this early into a rebuild.
He also called for a degree of “calm” in the assessment of where they are and how they are playing.
It is a point of view that deserves respect, and applies both individually and collectively.
For instance, Jayden Harris attracted a little criticism for his performance on Saturday. It shouldn’t be forgotten that it was his first home league start in the Football League.
As Simpson said, the midfielder did some good things in the game too (and should have had an assist with the cross for Omari Patrick late in the first half).
A new player, stepping up a level into a new team at the very outset of a three-year deal, deserves patience and encouragement, even if he does not start every week.
Moxon, too, on Saturday endured a poor spell in the game, but stayed with it well enough to play a vital part in Carlisle’s fightback.
And while Omari Patrick might not yet be back to his vibrant best, he did inject some sorely-needed urgency into a flat team performance when he replaced Ryan Edmondson in the first half.
Carlisle and such players are not there yet, but instinct says this is a team and squad with good potential, as long as they keep results on the level, and we give them the long-term understanding they need.
6 THE DEVITT QUESTION
Well, he certainly hasn’t done himself any harm in the last week.
After a goal against Manchester United’s Under-21s in the Papa John's Trophy, the midfielder helped turn things around against Rochdale.
While social media has salivated over the pass he played to Jordan Gibson in the build-up to Carlisle’s second goal, just as important was Devitt’s sense of calm and poise on the ball in his 36-minute cameo.
It was something United, for all their efforts, rather lacked beforehand, and this is the poser facing Simpson now.
Does he save Devitt for those situations, or does he flip it around and use the popular midfielder to help Carlisle set the tone instead?
It cannot be forgotten that, alongside Callum Guy, Devitt brought some vital control to United’s play in Simpson’s very first games in charge last season.
He did not complete any of those initial four matches, but by the time he went off, a hitherto-struggling Carlisle were either leading or drawing in them all.
The Blues missed Guy’s defensive instincts in midfield on Saturday too, with Rochdale's more experienced middle men such as Toumani Diagouraga carrying greater know-how than United's greener set.
He is, though, expected back soon. Reuniting him with Devitt from the start of things is certainly one theory that might help Carlisle bring more order to things, and leave them less in need of salvage jobs.
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