Carlisle United 0-1 Harrogate Town: Huntington own-goal costs Blues

The defender sent a pass beyond Blues keeper Tomas Holy and into his own yet in the 82nd minute at Brunton Park.

That calamitous moment allowed strugglers Harrogate to claim three points as a four-game winning sequence for Paul Simpson's promotion-chasers was halted in highly frustrating fashion.

Carlisle had most of the play and pressure, while Simon Weaver's visitors failed to register a single shot on target in front of a 6,422 crowd.

But United - who remained third in League Two - saw their winless streak against the Yorkshire side extended to seven games.

It denied the Blues the chance to make further inroads in the automatic promotion race, although Northampton's draw with Walsall kept Simpson's men in the top three.

Carlisle's boss made two changes to his starting XI - both in attack - as United aimed to maintain their winning form.

John-Kymani Gordon and top scorer Kristian Dennis were both recalled as Omari Patrick and Joe Garner went back on the bench.

On the right of defence, meanwhile, Ben Barclay got another start, with Joel Senior again not included in the squad.

Harrogate boss Simon Weaver made five changes, recalling captain Josh Falkingham as well as Danny Grant, Jack Muldoon, Kayne Ramsay and Matty Daly, at the expense of Joe Mattock, Toby Sims, Warren Burrell, George Thomson and Sam Folarin.

Their deadline-day signings, Levi Sutton and Kazeem Olaigbe, started on the bench.

Morgan Feeney tries his luck (Image: Ben Holmes)

Carlisle forced the first chance, when a set-piece found its way to Morgan Feeney and the captain's drilled shot was saved.

At the other end, Harrogate got behind United on the right but Alex Pattison failed to finish when Muldoon found him on the edge of the box.

Harrogate made a bright start but Carlisle soon started building pressure, and forced a series of first-half corners.

Gordon almost picked out Dennis in a dangerous position, before Gordon was denied in the box by an alert Matty Foulds challenge.

Jordan Gibson was also looking sharp for Carlisle and he saw a shot blocked, before a series of Owen Moxon corners tested the visitors, Dennis glancing one of them just over.

Harrogate were largely on the defensive but did emerge for one chance when Ramsey stepped onto the ball 25 yards out and in space, but he pulled his shot tamely wide.

The visitors then lost Muldoon to injury in the 39th minute, Folarin replacing him.

And they came close to stunning United with an opener three minutes from the break, as Foulds' free-kick from the right cleared everyone in the box and skimmed the outside of the post as keeper Holy watched anxiously on.

United resumed their pressure after the break, Gordon testing keeper Pete Jameson from long range and Moxon having more shots blocked.

Jon Mellish had also now been sent into midfield and pressured Harrogate with his strong running, but with a goal still elusive beyond the hour mark, Simpson sent on Garner for Dennis.

JK Gordon is thwarted in the Harrogate box (Image: Ben Holmes)

It was Harrogate, though, who forced the next change, Ramsay and Daly feeding Grant to the left of goal, but his shot blocked as Huntington and Feeney slid in.

Patrick then replaced Gordon with 20 minutes to go, and tested Jameson with a snapshot minutes later.

But Carlisle then shot themselves in the foot by gifting a goal to Harrogate with just eight minutes to remaining.

And it was a moment to forget for experienced defender Huntington as his attempted backpass evaded Holy and rolled agonisingly into the United net.

Moxon limped off late on as Simpson sent on Jamie Devitt in a bid to find a way back.

The substitute came close with a 90th-minute free-kick which Jameson tipped over.

But Carlisle, despite more pressure in added time - and amid frustrations with some of ref Rob Lewis's decisions - couldn't turn things around as they went down to only their second home defeat of the campaign.

United: Holy, Feeney, Huntington, Mellish, Barclay, Armer, Guy, Moxon (Devitt 85), Gibson, Gordon (Patrick 71), Dennis (Garner 62). Not used: Kelly, Whelan, Robinson, McCalmont.

Booked: Mellish, Gibson.

Harrogate: Jameson, Eastman, Foulds, O’Connor, Ramsay (Burrell 90), Falkingham, Daly (Sutton 79), Grant (Angus 90), Pattison, Muldoon (Folarin 39), Armstrong. Not used: Oxley, Thomson, Olaigbe.

Goal: Huntington 82og

Booked: Foulds, Falkingham.

Ref: Robert Lewis.

Crowd: 6,422 (123 Harrogate fans).