Entertaining game played out in the sunshine
United played their first friendly of pre-season against Southampton’s U21 Development Squad behind closed doors on Friday afternoon and it brought pitch time for first team squad members and trialists alike as the Blues grabbed five goals in what was an entertaining game.
New recruit Billy Paynter opened the scoring when he took a low cross from Brough in his stride and opened himself up for a shot. The keeper had no chance as it angled past his desperate dive and into the roof of the net.
Mark Gillespie was called into action as the visitors pressed for an equaliser and a full length dive to tip a rasping shot past the post was greeted with an appreciative round of applause from the sidelines.
The Cumbrians doubled their lead on 20 minutes when a near post corner was met with a glancing header and the hosts went close again when Symington clipped a ball over the top. Brad Potts connected with a firm volley but the stopper was well placed.
Carlisle kept the pressure on and they established a three goal cushion just before the break when a neat move brought a first time volley from Paynter. A parried save fell nicely for Josh Gillies and he made no mistake as he stabbed it into the empty target.
United coped well in the heat and they grabbed their fourth goal of the day when a Beck flick from a long ball forward left David Amoo with just the keeper to beat. A touch on the run completed the hard work and he was left to roll the ball over the line and into the empty net.
Lively work inside the area from David Amoo brought a rash challenge on 71 minutes and the nippy front man dusted himself off to send the keeper the wrong way from the spot, but the Saints had the last say of the game when Chris Regis found the ball at his feet as Carlisle struggled to clear a well delivered corner. He put his boot through it and wheeled away in celebration as it crashed into the bottom corner.
“I’m really pleased with what I saw today," Graham Kavanagh said. "It was a good workout and a good performance.
“It's always pleasing to score five goals but we were disappointed that we conceded. I said to the lads at the end of the game that we need to create a clean sheet mentality this season but there were a lot of good points.”
We’ll have more from the manager on the official website over the weekend.
