Talking Tactics: Carlisle United vs. Notts County

Notts County were thrashed 3-0 by a Carlisle United side playing at Preston North End's stadium in front of 3,067 Cumbrians fans who made the 85-mile trip.

A Danny Grainger penalty and two Jabo Ibehre goals were enough for victory at Deepdale, which staged the game after flood damage at Brunton Park.

Was the result fair?

The score line is fair, Notts didn’t do enough to warrant anything from the game and Carlisle looked like scoring more than just three goals by half time.

How did Notts play?

Notts put a staggering performance in, in hindsight I would say it was caused by missing key players but with the depth of our squad, we should have adequate cover. They just didn’t do enough, and with the midfield, being fairly none existent it always meant Notts would struggle.

How did Carlisle play?

Carlisle played like they had a point to prove, from the back they were tight and structured but going forward they worked as one unit. I am genuinely impressed by what seems to be a very sterling performance by the Cumbians – they just made it difficult to give Notts an inch on the field, with dominating football, it was always going to be one sided.

Did our tactics work out?

The simple answer is no, on paper the selection looked very good but they lacked any sort of mental awareness within the game. It appeared as if the ideas Moniz had wouldn’t work, as no matter what he did, Notts couldn’t adjust to Carlisle’s play.

How did the referee perform?

The referee didn’t really make any untoward decisions and generally called the game well.

Who do we play next?

Next up for Notts is Hartlepool on boxing day, this is the game whereby I don’t expect any points because our track record in recent years hasn’t been very good. Hartlepool are a side which play very well at home and Notts play like they did against Carlisle, it will be a longer journey home for our own fans.

How should we play them?

We should keep the game finally balanced between slow building and positive forward play, I think if we turn the tempo when it suites – this will make it hard for Hartlepool. They will expect us to go out all attacking and this would suite them more than it would us, as it would allow them to put strain onto our defence and for anything to come out of this game, Notts will need to bide their time.

Here is what the Carlisle fans thought about their performance, courtesy of TheCumbrians.net:

Jumpforfun: I thought each and every player was superb today and without any real stars we completely controlled the game for long periods. Yes NC had an odd shot or half chance which on other days might have gone in but generally we were excellent.

Loving Jabo's goals but the energy and work rate of Kennedy, Dicker and Sweeney, the quality.of Grainger's delivery and the sense that the goalkeeper and back 4 weren't going to miss anything all day just made it a great day to be a Carlisle supporter.

Well done to the manager, the team and all the staff for a great performance. Huge well done also to the 3000+ who made the journey

Seesaw50: Absolutely great day for the Blues and the 3366 fans who got down to Deepdale, you`d have thought there was 10k there today. We are going from strength to strength and if we don`t go up this season, it’s gonna be hard to take. Up to 5th COYB.

Wukkie: Excellent result and a rare clean sheet in the League. A bit peeved I couldn't go due to work but we seem to be getting stronger as the season goes on. Top seven minimum it looks like. Now get that contract signed KC.

BaggersBlue: The only concern for me was that we faded in the second half and Notts County had 3 or 4 guilt edged chances which a better side would have taken.