CARLISLE manager Greg Abbott refused to be drawn on the referee at at St Mary’s despite a controversial second yellow card for left-back Gary Borrowdale proving to be the defining moment in the game.
The previously lacklustre Saints pounced to exploit the exposed left flank before the Cumbrians could reshuffle their 10-man pack.
And Rickie Lambert celebrated the birth of his second child with the only goal of the game, his 50th for the club, from a neat Chamberlain cut-back.
“It simply wasn’t a sending-off, there’s nothing else to say,” Abbott said.
“There is absolutely no point in talking to the referee because he will come up with a reason as to why it was a sending-off. In fact, I won’t ever speak to the man again.”
A brief conversation with the officials in the tunnel at half-time led to the United boss being sent to the stands for the duration of the second half but, again, there was little offered by way of explanation for the dismissal.
“I can’t talk about that right now,” Abbott explained.
“It was nothing at all, but it happened, and there is nothing else to say.” The galling thing for the travelling side, now four games since they tasted victory, was the way that they dictated the pace for long periods and the expected onslaught was kept at arm’s length in a very tight game.
Harding and N’Guessan were wasteful with their half-chances before the goal, and the closest that Carlisle came was a Lubomir Michalik header which Kelvin Davis gathered at full stretch.
“We felt that there was something in the game for us because they weren’t getting through,” defender Peter Murphy said.
“We feel really aggrieved about the sending-off because it’s a decision that has changed the whole game.
“I think we’ve seen an example of the team spirit again because we went at them and we were the ones creating the chances in the closing stages.” Liam Noble volleyed over as the Cumbrians’ search for an equaliser gathered pace and Michalik went close again with a dipping header which threatened to creep in at the near post.
“They had a few chances after the red card, but I am delighted with the way the players responded,” Abbott enthused.
“There was a togetherness that sometimes comes from adversity, and the only disappointing thing is that we are coming away with nothing to show for it.”
And the much-improved performance brought with it encouraging signs that an end to the recent slump in form may well be on the horizon.
“We need to take this type of attitude into what will be another very tough game at Oldham on Tuesday,” Abbott concluded.
“If we compete as we can we will always give ourselves a chance, so we’re asking the players to go out and do it again.
“The games are coming thick and fast and it’s important that we get back to picking up points as quickly as we possibly can.”
SOUTHAMPTON: Davis, Butterfield, Jaidi, Fonte, Harding, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Chaplow (Lallana 46), Hammond, N’Guessan (Forte 79), Do Prado, Lambert (Barnard 76). Subs (not used): Bialkowski, Richardson, Gobern, Seaborne.
Booked: Chaplow, Do Prado, Barnard.
Goal: Lambert 43.
CARLISLE UNITED: Collin, Simek, Michalik, Murphy, Borrowdale, Taiwo, Berrett, Marshall, Noble (Wells 70), Loy (Robson 44), Zoko (Curran 77). Subs (not used): Caig, Livesey, Madden, Gbarssin.
Sent off: Borrowdale (41).
Booked: Borrowdale, Noble, Taiwo, Michalik.
Attendance: 25,076
Referee: Rob Lewis (Shropshire).
