Carlisle prepared for Leeds backlash

May 14 2008 by Mark Douglas, The Journal

THE midfield mastermind behind Carlisle United’s memorable League One play-off semi-final first-leg victory believes Leeds United were guilty of fatally underestimating the Cumbrians.

But having helped Carlisle to tip the balance of the tie in their favour at a frenzied Elland Road, midfielder Simon Hackney knows Gary McAllister’s side will not make the same mistake ahead of tomorrow’s high-stakes clash at Brunton Park.

The left winger scored the first goal of a frenetic tie in West Yorkshire – with the help of an inadvertent deflection off Danny Graham – and created the second as Carlisle turned the League One form book upside down to leave them within 90 minutes of a place at Wembley.

Leeds under-performed drastically given the hype that surrounded their promotion bid before the game, and in front of nearly 40,000 fans at Elland Road they were unable to wrestle an advantage from John Ward’s spirited side.

With the second leg coming hot on the heels of the first, Leeds need to learn their lessons quickly to avoid another season in English football’s third tier – with Dougie Freedman’s injury-time goal giving them genuine hope of overturning the deficit.

And Carlisle’s winger, for one, believes the sins of the first leg will not be revisited. “That’s what I’ve been told in the changing rooms. I was told they thought they weren’t going to need the second leg but don’t under-estimate us, we’re a good team with some good players,” he said.

“We’ve not got the money other clubs have got but we’ve gone out there and shown a bit of heart.

“Anything can happen, it’s the play-offs. We’ve got a good start, now we’ve got to go back to our ground and do the same thing. The guys’ spirit has been really good, the training’s been fantastic, we’ve got great coaches and the fans who travelled to Leeds were fantastic.

“We’ve all plugged away and it’s a team game. That includes all the staff, the people around the ground and the fans as well. We did a good job on Monday.” Carlisle’s slender advantage will certainly infuse them with fresh belief and hope after an end of season that failed to match what had gone before.

But at 2-1 the Cumbrians will be wary of a Leeds team that were stung on their own patch. Hackney is leading the charge against complacency, branding the lead a “dangerous one” and admitting there is still plenty to do to take them one step closer to the Championship.

“The game is all about going to places like Elland Road in front of a full house and enjoying it. We were geared up for it – you could see that in the lads and when we’re like that we’re very good. At Brunton Park we’ve just got to show the same attitude and the same endeavour and we won’t be far away.”