Carlisle United's extraordinary season may well yet have a happy ending, as they find themselves requiring one point from their last two games to guarantee Third Division football at Brunton Park next season.
In one of the closest relegation battles for years it looks as if the whole season will come to a dramatic climax at Barnet's Underhill Stadium where the hosts will take on Torquay in a winner takes all encounter.
In order for all eyes to be focused towards Barnet next Saturday the Cumbrians have a little matter of getting at least a point out of their visit to Lincoln on Wednesday night. Their prospects were enhanced with Lincoln's victory over Darlington, which put the Imps clear of danger.
Ironically the job should have been done and dusted at Southend on Saturday, and would have been but for one momentary lapse in concentration which allowed the home side to equalise with four minutes remaining.
Manager Ian Atkins was once again left to reflect what might have been and said: "It should have been three points. It was disappointing again, similar to the Chesterfield game. We were trying to make a substitution just to calm the game down but the officials don't look or listen. Then there was one ball, one slash, one cross , one goal but I can't ask any more of the players because they worked extremely hard. We could have kept the ball a little better at times and should have gone two up when Steve Halliday broke through and should have scored and at two nil that would have been it and the season would have been over. We seem never to make it easy for ourselves. We need a point to stay up but we've got two games to do it so it's in our hands. If somebody had said to us in December that with two games to go you need a point to stay up people would have laughed at us. We took nine points out the first seventeen games, we didn't have a team, we didn't have a squad because of what was going on behind the scenes. Then we put our foot down and we were allowed to bring players in and the players have been absolutely brilliant for us and there isn't another side in this division who've had to work like us."
The Cumbrians got off to a flier with six minutes on the clock when Jon Cullen won the ball in midfield before releasing Gordon Connelly through the left channel. The former Southend man's shot was palmed away by Darryl Flahaven only to fall into Ian Stevens path and he calmly slotted into an unguarded net.
Former Carlisle favourite Damon Searle went close for the Shrimpers with a 25 yard shot and was the lucky not to concede a penalty at the other end when he appeared to handle a Lee Maddison cross.
On 18 minutes David McSweeney's cross from the right was headed over by Mark Rawle followed by a Tes Bramble shot, which Glennon saved comfortably. Carlisle's central defensive partnership of Whitehead, Morley and Winstanley were proving more than a match for Southend's attack, who grew more desperate resorting to long range efforts.
On 78 minutes Glennon's first save of the second half came when a Stuart Thurgood free kick took a deflection off Mark Winstanley's head.
Three minutes later the Cumbrians should have wrapped the points up when an astute Connelly through ball put Steve Halliday in the clear, but Flahaven came out to make a save at the strikers feet.
Carlisle were left to rue the miss as Scott Forbes got away down the left to cross for fellow substitute David Lee to head home.
It was a cruel end for Carlisle but they now know what they need to do to guarantee their Third Division status.
Mike Corry
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