Gillingham 0 Carlisle United 0

Mar 31 2008 The Journal

WITH Doncaster beating Nottingham Forest on Friday, Carlisle were under some pressure to maintain their advantage in the second automatic promotion slot.

This looked like one of the better opportunities to pick up three points but Gillingham belied their place in the bottom four to test the promotion aspirations of the Cumbrians. Gone was the slick passing and movement, as Carlisle struggled to come to terms with a scrap. But once they had mastered the technique they were unlucky not to come away with the win as they got on top in the final 20 minutes.

Now the Cumbrians will know there will be no easy games between now and the end of the season, irrespective of the opposition. But most importantly Carlisle took something from a game they may have lost a couple of months ago, as they extended their unbeaten run to 12 games.

John Ward was full of praise for his team, as he saw another side to players that have shown him so much this season. He said: “We’ve been talking about what to expect from this game over the last couple of days. Gillingham are fighting for their lives and I told the players not to underestimate what we are fighting for. But we’ve seen two teams do that and because of that I’ve got to be pleased we’ve come away with a point.”

Although facing a gale in the first half, it was Carlisle who should have been ahead inside two minutes.

Danny Graham saw his shot deflected and from the Marc Bridge-Wilkinson corner, Simon Hackney saw his shot cleared off the line by Nicky Southall. But as Gillingham took control of midfield it was the former Hartlepool player who was pulling the strings and his long-range effort went over. Although struggling for possession Carlisle were quick to get forward in numbers when they had the chance.

The momentum was with the home side after the break and they were unlucky not to break the deadlock on 57 minutes when Simeon Jackson picked the ball up 20 yards out but hit the bar.

Carlisle pushed players forward late on to take charge with Grant Smith firing wide and Bridge-Wilkinson hitting a chance over the bar.

GILLINGHAM: Stillie, Richards, Cullip, King, Southall, Crofts, Bentley, Nutter, Miller (Griffiths 78), Jackson, Oli. Subs (not used): Kiely, Stone, Cumbers, Fuller.

Booked: Oli

CARLISLE: Westwood, Raven, Livesey, Murphy, Horwood, Taylor (Carlton 77), Bridge-Wilkinson, Grant Smith, Lumsdon, Hackney, Graham (Dobie 73). Subs (not used): Howarth, Joyce, Arnison.

Booked: Murphy

Attendance: 6,673

Referee: Gavin Ward (Surrey)