What did we learn from Carlisle United's defeat to Leyton Orient?

1 AT ARM’S LENGTH

As ever, there is a balance to be found between praising the opposition and criticising the Blues when things don’t go well.

Both aspects deserve fair hearing in light of a game when Carlisle really struggled to create serious chances.

Leyton Orient’s defensive record is little better than United’s in League One so far, but they guarded their goal well at Brunton Park.

Joe Garner is denied by Orient (Image: Ben Holmes)

Led by the towering Dan Happe, Richie Wellens’ rearguard, despite giving up ten shots to the Blues, only allowed Paul Simpson’s men to get one on target, while Wellens' strategy, involving a well-stocked midfield keeping some of United's wide dangermen on the fringes, also worked.

The visitors were put under pressure in the second half but only when Terry Ablade hit the post did Carlisle really get close to something.

It was only the second time at home this term that United have managed so few shots on target. The other occasion was against Peterborough United, when Jordan Gibson timed their one attempt on target to perfection.

That highlighted the value of staying in games, at least. But on Saturday, even at just 1-0 down, Carlisle were short of creativity and unable to take the initiative against a side from a similar area of the table (before kick-off, at least).

There was not a big, ambitious opponents to tackle in their own back yard (Bolton), nor an expected high-flier to confront at home (Peterborough) – nor persistent refereeing injustices to rage against (also Peterborough).

Carlisle had to find their own inspiration, get their own juices flowing, in a more orthodox occasion, and where it mattered, they failed.

2 THE GOALKEEPING QUESTION

It was another game where a degree of scrutiny had to go to United’s No1 position, and this must have happened far too often in 2023/24 for Paul Simpson’s liking.

Tomas Holy lost his place after a sub-par performance too many, in Simpson’s eyes, but replacement Jokull Andresson’s keeping was much too eventful in his short run in the side.

Holy has been largely secure since his recall but his judgement was off when he rushed out to try and intercept Ruel Sotiriou as the Orient man scored the only goal.

Tomas Holy had made a solid return to the side - but his role in Orient's goal came under scrutiny on Saturday (Image: Ben Holmes)

What would have happened had Holy stayed at home is for conjecture only. Simpson felt sure the chance would have been much more difficult for Sotiriou, at least.

In the event, though, it is one more day of several when Carlisle’s last line of defence has been a debating point.

This is far from ideal for a side trying to strengthen its foundations at a higher level.

While Holy should retain the gloves for the foreseeable, Saturday is also unlikely to dissuade Simpson from keeping close attention on the position as he considers how to evolve this United side.

3 STAR MEN IN MARGINS

After the euphoria of Bolton, this was a much lesser day for many of Carlisle’s players, including those who were central to that fine victory.

In Jordan Gibson’s case, the Toughsheet hat-trick hero struggled to make it in from the margins of the Orient contest.

Statistics from WhoScored.com reflect the fact that Gibson had a single shot in the game, made no key passes and executed no dribbles.

Jordan Gibson struggled to make serious impact on this game (Image: Ben Holmes)

Numbers may not be everything, but it's clear Carlisle and Gibson were unable to drift into the kind of spaces where things can happen - again, partly through Orient's organisation and strategy, and partly through United's failure to outwit them.

On the right, Sean Maguire had an even more obscure afternoons, finding no joy whatsoever in an attacking respect and only touching the ball 14 times – the same number Luke Plange managed in his 20-minute cameo.

As is often the case, Owen Moxon was the hub for Carlisle’s play, and it was from his set-pieces that they might have snatched something from the game late on.

But the stats, as well as the naked eye, tell you that United lacked true invention, true pace, and the kind of movement Orient used to exploit Carlisle for their goal, when the canny Joe Pigott dropped deep to allow the pacier Sotiriou to make his decisive move.

Wellens and Orient found a weak spot in their counter-attacking angles more than once in the first half, and that shaped an effective away display against a home side whose stars were not, this time, aligned.

4 IMPACT SUBS

Paul Simpson, contrary to his livid post-match words last Tuesday, resisted the temptation to sideline most of his fringe players and name only a couple of subs on Saturday.

The bench was stocked with options as ever. Yet one wonders how much confidence goes with those options when the manager turns to them just now.

Only one substitute has scored for Carlisle this season – Joe Garner, and now he’s in the starting line-up.

Terry Ablade hit the post, but United's subs have not been threatening enough overall (Image: Ben Holmes)

Otherwise it has been either a case of nearly but not quite, or not nearly enough.

United’s back-up ranks produced such a low level of performance against Nottingham Forest’s Under-21s in the EFL Trophy that one wondered how reticent Simpson might be to use them in this game.

In the event he waited until the relatively closing stages to introduce Plange and Ablade, and then Ryan Edmondson.

Ablade did come close with a shot that hit the post, while Edmondson almost ghosted onto something at the near post. Plange was industrious in attack.

But United’s changes did not have a record of dynamic delivery at this point in a game. Simpson talked a lot last season about ‘starters’ and ‘finishers’, and improving the output of the latter would surely help the Cumbrians climb.

5 SUPPORT STILL THERE

This remains a good period for supporting numbers at Carlisle and 8,355 represented another strong attendance for such a fixture.

A side 19th in League One at the start of play and 20th by the end cannot always expect such backing.

The Blue Army, then, are still foursquare behind Simpson and his team’s bid to find their feet at this level.

One of the big Warwick Road End banners was damaged on Saturday (Image: News & Star)

United did not do enough to get that crowd going on Saturday and hence it was only on occasion when Brunton Park truly roared as it can.

When things are not at their most vibrant, it’s when you see and hear other things. One or two cheered when Fin Back, after a wretched second-half spell, was substituted and, however much the young loanee may have struggled on Saturday, that wasn’t a particularly endearing sound.

Once more, meanwhile, a minority risks tarnishing the good efforts of the majority, given the latest goings-on in the Warwick Road End.

A large banner, raised by fans’ crowdfunding, was damaged while a loud bang in the first half was, it turns out, the result of a firework.

Carlisle have already had too many unwanted incidents and could certainly do without more of them, which dismay the decent young fans who have done such good work to revitalise Brunton Park’s home end.

It’s still happening too often, and the point can be repeated as many times as you like: it’s just not in tune with the good journey the Blues have been and are on under Simmo.

It supporting United on these weekends isn’t enough, without the temptation to do something damaging/stupid, it’s a sad state of affairs - and isn't support at all.

Given the potential impact on the club, it's in fact the opposite.