Match report Carlisle v Vale of Lune 30-10-21

Carlisle had the better of the early exchanges in this match, without capitalising on the territorial gains, and it was Vale of Lune with their first foray into the home sides half, who had a chance of points on the board from a 35m penalty. Fortunately for Carlisle the kick was dragged left of the posts, and they were able to return to pushing the visitors back into their half.
It wouldn't be until 26 minutes were gone, that pressure would yield Carlisle's first points as Jason Israel slotted a penalty from 30m for a 3-0 lead.
They wouldn't hold that lead for long though as Vale countered with an attack down the right, then spread it left with Carlisle drifting across to counter. The desperate defence on the line was too desperate for the referee, and a penalty gave the visitors a chance of a 5m line out,from which they drove a maul over for their first try.
Carlisle attempted to drive the visitors back, but Vale's defence was holding Carlisle at bay from their 22m line. It would be another penalty committed by the visitors that handed back the lead to Carlisle, with Israel easily splitting the uprights for a 6-5 lead on the half time mark.

A restart for Carlisle gave them front foot ball, and they were continuing to look for gaps in the visitors defence. However a floated ball across the backs was intercepted by Vale, and the scrambling defence wasn't enough to stop the Vale backs run in their second try, with just 3 mins gone of the second half.

Credit to Carlisle that they didn't drop their heads, and a swift counter was made when James Telford made a break down the left into the Vale 22. Matty Little was following in close support and as Telford was dragged down, Little took on the challenge, stepping one defender and then crashing through two more to go over under the posts.

With the score at 13-10, it was still too close to call, and though Carlisle were still going through the phases, and playing some good rugby, Vale were defending well, and also looking dangerous on the counter.

With just 8 mins to go, Vale were awarded a penalty to give themselves a lineout deep in the Carlisle 22. Securing the ball, they went through a number of phases before quickly switching the ball right across the backline, to find a gap in the Carlisle defence for their third try.
All of a sudden there was sense of deja vu from last weeks game in the Isle of Man, with the clock ticking away and the pressure on Carlisle to score again to regain the lead.
The game even ended the same way, though this time with a different outcome. Carlisle were awarded a penalty just outside the 22, and Israel stepped forward to convert, but the ball just shaded past the right upright. Then from the restart Carlisle ran the ball back at Vale, and a tipped kick through gave Carlisle a lineout on the 22m. With Vale stealing it, it looked gloomy for the home side, but as Vale tried to drive it up, they committed another penalty, this time Israel making no mistake, to split the uprights for a 16-15 lead, with a minute on the clock.

Despite some desperate attacking play from the visitors, Carlisle managed to keep their heads, and the ball, until the clock ran out, securing a win that was much needed.
A win that was closer than it needed to be, with Carlisle probably having 65% of the posession, but unable to turn that into more points. Still, taking the points on offer meant the scoreboard kept ticking over, and kept Carlisle in striking distance. It was good to see that when Vale took the lead, Carlisle didn't panic, and simply went through the phases until they got a result.
Nice to see John Walker back in the Firsts, with a man of the match performance, and a solid debut for Oz Roberts on the wing.
Next match is a local derby against Penrith at Winters Park in two weeks time.