In contrast to the wet weather further north, Southend was bathed in early Autumn sunshine as United arrived at the ground. The one enforced change saw Peter Murphy drop out with a thigh injury and Mark Winstanley come in on the left side of defence. The Shrimpers were looking to bounce back from two defeats.

There was little early action as both sides made a cagey start. Stuart Thurgood missed a chance to collect a cross inside the sixth minute but it wasn't until the 11th minute that a Jason Harris shot was blocked and Kevin Maher's follow-up chip floated wide of the target. Two minutes later a teasing Winstanley cross just evaded the diminutive figure of right winger Brendan McGill. Dave Rogers went down a few seconds after this following an apparent elbow from Danny Webb, the son of the Shrimpers' manager Dave Webb. The youngster received a booking.

Another alleged elbow from the miscreant Webb saw Andrews receive treatment. Webb escaped further censure. On 24 minutes, the best move of the match to date saw United score a very good goal to take the lead. Steve Halliday dummied the Southend defence cleverly before releasing a lovely pass into the path of his partner Foran whose left foot shot found the back of the net.

Within two minutes a cross into the box saw Webb scooping wide when there was a great opportunity for a quick leveller. Carlisle were playing some very nice football in patches. A great pass by Morley picked out Halliday but the chance was snuffed out. On 34 minutes Jason Harris brought a great save out of Luke Weaver, who was having a very impressive first half. Three minutes later Halliday and Foran combined very well but the Shrimpers cleared their lines. Morley followed up with a shot that went wide. Roddy Collins wasn't happy with something and brought off Chay Hews to be replaced by Tony Hopper.

The change seemed to narrow United's shape and Southend began to find space down the flanks especially for right back Carl Hutchings. On 43 minutes the home team pulled level when United were once again punished for poor defending at a set-piece. Barrington Belgrave's long throw-in bounced over the defence to defender Phil Whelan who produced an overhead kick that just dipped in under the bar. The teams trooped off at half-time with the match all-square. Southend had dominated most of the final ten minutes and the scoreline was probably a fair reflection.

The first incident of note in the second period saw Foran booked for the third time this season, for timewasting. Nine minutes in, the home team confirmed their ascendancy with the second goal. Again a set-piece proved United's undoing. Thurgood headed Maher's free kick back across goal and Webb was on hand to head home. The home team's long balls into the box were causing all sorts of problems. From a Maher corner kick on 63 minutes Leon Cort got up well to head just wide. Southend seemed quicker to the ball and their height advantage appeared to be bringing dividends. Another Belgrave long throw reached Webb unmarked but thankfully Weaver rode to the rescue with a good save.

United managed to get back up the other end of the field and the dangerous Foran turned and shot sharply but Flahaven made the save. Collins made another change. He hauled off Mark Birch, replaced him with John Hore and re-arranged the side into a 3-5-2 formation with Whitehead moving back to join Andrews and Rogers at the back. The switch improved things immediately. Foran was caught offside on several occasions as United got forward and began to keep the ball better.

With 12 minutes remaining another testing Hutchings cross found the head of Webb but the scorer of the second goal this time headed over. Michael Jack replaced Halliday. Hopper was booked for dissent. Harris fired a fierce left footed effort just wide of the target from the resulting free-kick. Then young Jack picked out Morley who shot from distance only to see Flahaven save comfortably. The drama overflowed in the closing stages. United deservedly pulled level in the 83rd minute with a carbon copy of the home side's first goal. An Andrews long throw-in bouncing through to Hopper who scored a collector's item of a goal with an overhead kick. Hopper's goals are as rare as hen's teeth and an overhead kick to boot - truly a marvel to witness.

The game was picking up all the time. Harris put in a crude challenge on Andrews and entered the notebook. Morley was booked after a spot of retaliation. Two minutes from time, Carlisle's inability to cope with set-pieces was exposed for the final time as Maher's cross-cum-shot from a partially cleared free kick appeared to go straight in to the net although Webb was quick to claim a touch with his chest. There was just time for ex-CUFC star Damon Searle to make a late subsitute appearance.

Al's Verdict : Another failure to cope with set-pieces and direct football in general cost us three points. We played well enough to win the match but it was the old story of giving away bad goals. Foran is just about managing to score as many goals as he is collecting bookings, but unless we can learn to defend, we will never climb out of the basement area. Collins is willing to make rapid substitutions and change formation in the middle of the game but the players have to learn to cope with the sort of muscular, direct football that is commonplace at this level.