“I’ll remember this for a while,” says Sam Lavelle, thinking about a moment at the end of Carlisle United’s defeat to Wigan which was very much at odds with the recent experience of losing a game at Brunton Park.
“We conceded the second goal at the end of extra-time, to put us 2-0 down, and the fans have stood up on their feet clapping us – knowing the game's over, but showing they appreciate the effort.
“It's the complete opposite to last Saturday, which has got to give us motivation to do it again.”
It was indeed a complete contrast to the mood of despair that greeted the Blues’ League Two defeat to Cheltenham Town. While there were very few redeeming features that day, at least the FA Cup first round tie brought some positive aspects even in defeat.
Carlisle, down to ten men for the most part, summoned a collective spirit and defiance that has been absent for too many of their other games en route to the fourth tier relegation zone. It must, Lavelle concedes, be the base line for everything they do from here, now that the league is back onto the agenda.
How do they use Saturday’s battling experience as a turning point? “We have to use the fans [and how they reacted],” Lavelle says. “Use the belief that we can fight like that, because that's got to be the bottom line in any football game, to work hard.
“Some games on the ball it might not work for you, but if you've got that great determination to not concede and to fight, then that's got to be the bottom line. Playing like that with ten men has got to give us some great belief.”
Fourteen games in and Carlisle’s league record shines strong and critical light on their efforts in many departments. Against Cheltenham, certainly, they seemed a side without conviction. So where did all that come from against Wigan?
“Maybe at the start of the game,” Lavelle says, “frustrating them, creating chances against a good side. I think once you're still in the game at half-time, you start believing – and I think it's just pure belief.
“Before the game, a few of us said, ‘Just concentrate on not conceding – get it in our heads that we’re not conceding’. It’s a combination of things, but momentum is the main one.”
Carlisle, with the worst defensive record in League Two, kept Wigan at bay until the 14th minute of extra-time, before the Latics broke from a final Blues corner to shoot a second into an empty net. A replay would have been the outcome in previous years and it would have been hard earned.
From Gabe Breeze forward, it was a performance of commitment. That collective will must reappear at Salford City now. Lavelle agrees: “You can't have seven or eight lads giving it absolutely everything on a Saturday and two or three sort of slacking off or hiding.
“I don't think it's the case of lads not caring, because everyone in the changing room does, but sometimes I appreciate it looks like they don’t, just because of where we are in the league – with the results, people sort of go in themselves.
“You have to be brave, don't hide, and you could see [on Saturday] that everyone’s putting the effort in.”
Carlisle’s efforts against their League One opponents were hindered by Ethan Robson’s 14th-minute dismissal for his challenge on Steven Sessegnon. What was Lavelle’s view of the flashpoint?
“At the time, I didn't think it was [a sending-off offence]. I just expected a yellow card to come out and then the next minute, a red does. So frustrating.
“I think Ethan said he's going to appeal it, so we'll see how that goes. But it sort of killed the game a little bit and forced us to slow the game down a little bit. It's really frustrating to see because Ethan's just getting going, coming back from injury.”
A much more positive feature of the day was Breeze’s performance in goal, after he got the nod in place of Harry Lewis. Captain Lavelle was impressed with the young Cumbrian.
“He was brilliant - his talking, his concentration is the main thing for Gabe,” he says.
“I always tell him to be concentrated because he can switch off at times in training and things like that. But his decision-making was spot on – when to kick it long, which he's fine to do at times, and when to play short. coming for crosses, his saves…he was brilliant.
“Hopefully he can keep that level of concentration and build his confidence, because if that doesn't build his confidence, nothing will.”
In a more attacking sense there was a first start for Tyler Burey, who gave an energetic performance on the right. He is one of two new faces around the squad, with Kadeem Harris set to be the second free agent signing made by Williamson.
“It’s going to lift us,” says Lavelle. “If I'm being honest, Tyler surprised me [on Saturday]. “You know what he can do with his pace and his athleticism – but defensively, he was spot on and he had that desire to get back.
“Like I said before, it's momentum. If a player sees Tyler putting that effort defensively, you do it yourself and it's sort of a butterfly effect.”
One player sadly unable to help galvanise Carlisle in their League Two predicament is Charlie Wyke, out for the season with a serious ankle injury. Lavelle feels the absence of the striker.
“I've only known Charlie for five or six months now and I feel like I'm a really good mate to him,” says the defender. “He's been through a lot in his last few years and again in the last few weeks, he's been struggling with a few things which you don't expect him to struggle with, but this is just a massive kick in the teeth for him.
“The timing was horrendous because he’d sort of sorted the problems off the pitch that he was having. His attitude was fully locked into this club and going forward, and then he goes and does that.
“We’ll have to get around him as a team and a club, and hopefully he can get through it.”
Lavelle has been in the wars himself, in a less long-lasting way but still with a fair amount of pain: a broken nose, suffered in the 3-1 defeat at Walsall, seeing the defender wearing a mask in United’s last two games.
“It’s okay – it got straightened last Friday,” says the 28-year-old.
“Last week was a bit of a weird one. I had to wear a temporary mask and I couldn't really see out of it to be honest. I've been down to Birmingham a few times to get a personalised mask fitted, so it feels okay now. I've got to wear that for a few weeks.”
Lavelle did not want to come off despite having his features rearranged at the Poundland Bescot Stadium, something Mike Williamson says is testament to his character. United certainly need all the resilience they can find to improve their league position – and their Wigan showing counts for nothing unless they can reproduce its better elements.
“This season we've had a good performance followed by a horrendous one like Wimbledon,” Lavelle says. “We've got to remember it's not just going to happen. We need to turn up like we did [on Saturday].
“Everyone's got to play a part. The ones who aren't playing have got to get around the lads, and have to bring that endeavour and personality and the grit to defend – that is the baseline for anything and hopefully our football and the talent we've got on the pitch can then make a difference.
“We’ve all got to pull together, because we showed [on Saturday] we’re going to turn this around, and I believe we will.”
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