Carlisle United 1 Sutton United 1: A few thousand more on the gate, a bit of local spice on the menu, plenty of noise and fury…it’s not hard to imagine Carlisle United v Barrow, in a week’s time, lighting the necessary fires inside the players.

Carlisle v Sutton, with none of the above, was plainly a different matter. In that respect, it was a game that shone light on a key challenge United must overcome if they are to be contenders on the back nine of this campaign.

It is one thing hitting your competitive heights when there is a strong whiff of cordite in the air. It is another having to do so on a flat and chilly December day, against awkward opponents with 70 travelling fans, modest form and zero off-field zing. 

At no point on Saturday did United show the wit and spark required in such obscure circumstances. Players were short, individually and collectively. Paul Simpson also felt Carlisle’s supporters failed to bring their A-game too.

News and Star: Paul Huntington heads clear for UnitedPaul Huntington heads clear for United (Image: Barbara Abbott)

“I don’t think anybody has done enough today,” United’s manager said. “I do think the fans and the players all turned up just expecting it was gonna happen.”

With, it can be said, a little justification given this was, at 1pm, sixth versus 18th, the side in sixth being largely strong at home and the side in 18th having picked up just five points on the road. Simpson, though, felt the stalemate was the right time to stress that Carlisle are nowhere near a place that warrants any complacency or assumption.

With umpteen tricky tests against lower-positioned sides to come, it was useful to remind the Blues that they have to be better than this in order to prise obdurate teams open on quiet days. It was one of their least potent attacking displays of the season, one that will surely lead to a good deal of thinking from Simpson and his staff as to the way forward.

At least, when so sterile, Carlisle are not losing. This reflects the improved competitive foundation of the team Simpson has improved since February. United below their best in 2021/22 were a wretched sight. This time there is better context to frustrating days.

News and Star: Ryan Edmondson celebrates his goalRyan Edmondson celebrates his goal (Image: Ben Holmes)

That progress – fifth, after 20 games – can be celebrated even on days like this. Sutton, when they decided to play, were thorny customers. When they decided to slow things down and chew up time, and were allowed to do so by a passive referee, they irritated in a different way.

Carlisle struggled to overcome either predicament. They had just the one spell when you fancied they might slap some superiority on the table, and it was the period when Ryan Edmondson headed them in front. But it passed by too quickly.

Matt Gray’s side did not arrive with the momentum of last season but began the game crisply. They burrowed down United’s right and, by and large, were swifter and stronger at second balls. Donovan Wilson turned Paul Huntington early on, and on a number of occasions he threatened to stretch Simpson’s team.

Carlisle lacked bite, other than the recalled Callum Guy in midfield initially. Sutton were sharp-elbowed, physical and collective on the ball, and their forwards dropped between the lines well at times. Yet they lacked punch at the end of their efforts, and when United found better control from about the 20-minute mark, things seemed a shade brighter.

News and Star: Will Randall scores the Sutton equaliserWill Randall scores the Sutton equaliser (Image: Barbara Abbott)

Edmondson sliced one shot wide after a quick break over the top, and better pressing and movement yielded a number of corners. Eventually one training-ground routine saw Owen Moxon and Jordan Gibson swap passes, and Edmondson sneaked behind the defensive line to head home Moxon’s cross.

Good. Better. A chance to settle…which soon went adrift. Moxon and Guy had further attempts after the goal, and Gibson threatened to elude Sutton in the number ten area, but nobody could dictate proceedings for long enough.

United were pushed back again, and eventually Sutton struck, Wilson nosing down the right and the untracked Will Randall gobbling up a rebound after Tomas Holy had saved his first effort.

News and Star: Jon Mellish tries an acrobatic shotJon Mellish tries an acrobatic shot (Image: Ben Holmes)

The second half, well…it won’t go down in posterity. Sutton started it well, Adam Lovatt seeing a shot saved, yellow bodies frequently perched in good positions deep in Carlisle’s half, a visiting goal from a corner disallowed for a foul.

They then fell back and looked to absorb United’s punches by various means. Ref Lewis Smith, faced with the sight of set-piece grappling, opted to repeatedly warn players rather than let events take their course, yet potential decisions (Corey Whelan going to ground twice) went unmade, while some searching Jack Armer crosses for Edmondson proved just too deep to be truly threatening.

Simpson eventually went for changes, Jack Stretton and Jamie Devitt coming on, but were still unable to fashion anything to test keeper Jack Rose. United were rather cold and jaded in thought and deed, players eventually opting for hopeful, low-percentage passes rather than simpler, more effective ones.

News and Star: Players clash late in the gamePlayers clash late in the game (Image: Ben Holmes)

Nothing came off, while even an injury-time melee involving a host of players did not have the rage (or shiners) of the previous weekend’s set-to at Walsall. Four added minutes seemed a trifle short, given the extent of the time-wasting by that point, but any more of the spectacle would have been a trying experience in truth.

Best, after all the futile slog, to tuck the point away, zero in on the vital lessons to learn, and otherwise consign it to swift and distant memory.