we gave quite possibly the worst 45 minutes of the season (and thats saying something) in the second half. it was appalling - no attempt on goal at all. we tried to sit back and soak up pressure, the midfield sat far too deep and the forwards were stranded 40 yards from the nearest players. they predictably equalised but thankfully didn't press too hard for the win. atkins did nothing to change it till the last 5 minutes when he brought on halliday and some bald bloke up front who played suspiciously like carl heggs. a lot of people have had enough of atkins long ball shite (theres another word for your niece to learn) as we dropped points against the sort of teams we MUST beat at home if we are to avoid the drop. and we've now got another two away league defeats to follow before christmas.
the sum of our team is less than the some of its parts. we have hardworking goalscoring forwards (plus another on the bench) and two excellent centre halves (plus another on the bench). the manager was poor today (again) - no substitutions when it was clearly needed and god knows what he said to them at half time. and still no football. take it or leave it i'll be told thats atkins well quite frankly i'd prefer to leave it if it wasn't for my season ticket and love of the club. don't start on about circumstances either - i would say that any manager could take 13 points from 20 games with that squad leaving us adrift at the bottom. could anyone else do any worse? i doubt it.
Chris Kearton
Football is riddled with clichés but none were more poignant than "a match of two halves" describing this dire encounter in which a strong wind dominated throughout.
Carlisle, with the benefit of the wind at their backs in the first half, will kick themselves for not making their possession count for more than their one goal interval lead. Lincoln, on the other hand, will wonder how they didn't come away with all three points after dominating the second half, in which long throw expert Paul Mayo constantly put the home side under pressure.
Manager Ian Atkins was disappointed not to take all three points. He said: "In the first half we got in and created numerous chances and did everything right. The problem second half, we were against the wind and we defended too deep and got penned in a little bit giving Lincoln the initiative. Their long throw is difficult to defend but we dealt with it superbly but still got caught out once and that's what they played for."
The Cumbrians, pushed forward from the start with Scott Dobie heading a Tony Hemmings cross straight at Alan Marriott in the second minute followed by an Ian Stevens turn and shot flying narrowly over the bar.
On 21 minutes Stevens turned provider to give the Cumbrians the lead. The striker latched on to Matty Glennon's long clearance, down the left, to pull the ball back leaving a simple tap in for Scott Dobie.
The visitors almost got back into the game seven minutes later when Glennon had to be alert to turn a James Dudgeon header over the bar.
On 34 minutes Dobie's cross cum shot was turned round the post by Marriott. With the interval looming a Stevens overhead pass put Mick Galloway away but Dobie headed his resulting cross straight at substitute keeper Matthew Ghent.
Three minutes after the restart Gordon Connelly scuffed a shot wide from a good position and the Cumbrians were left to rue the miss as the Imps got on top using the wind to their advantage.
A series of long throws from Paul Mayo pinned the home side back. Gavin Gordon went close twice when he had a shot blocked by Mark Winstanley, closely followed by a shot straight at Glennon. It was no surprise to see the Imps find the equaliser when another Mayo throw found Paul Miller on 72 minutes, for the substitute to lay the ball back for Gordon to hammer home from 16 yards.
The Cumbrians were now having to show plenty of defensive resolve but they did not capitulate leaving them with a hard earned point.
Mike Corry
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