Reds slip to 8th

CARLISLE UNITED 2 ACCRINGTON STANLEY 0

ACCRINGTON Stanley dropped down to eighth in the Conference as promotion rivals Carlisle leap-frogged the Reds with the victory.

It was a poor day for Stanley who didn't have new signing striker David Brown, from Hereford, in the fold as his registration was held up at the Nationwide Conference offices.

And they struggled to get going against a Carlisle side bouyed by their first victory in 10 games against Leigh midweek.

The home side got off to a dream start when Derek Holmes beat the off-side trap on six minutes and fired into the top of the net from a tight angle.

Things went from bad to worse for Stanley as striker Lee McEvilly then hobbled off with a groin injury on 19 minutes  - he will face a scan this week - and manager John Coleman had to rearrange his pack. But they could have got back in it when they were gifted a penalty on 42 minutes for handball from a MIke Flynn throw in which did seem harsh on the home side.

Ged Brannan had converted all three of his spot kicks this season but Keiren Westwood dived the right way and pushed out the effort. Stanley were livelier after the break but Carlisle got the second when Magno Vieira found top scorer Karl Hawley and he finished well beyond Paul Crichton on 53 minutes.

United could have added to their score but the Stanley keeper kept out their efforts while the Reds, unbeaten in ten prior to the game, struggled to trouble Westwood again.

"We started the game really bright but the first time they got into our half they scored," said the manager. "We thought it was perhaps off side but it wasn't to be and then we had a great chance to get back into it but missed with the penalty and they grew from that.

"We started the second half like the first but the first time they got into our half they scored again. We huffed and puffed but we will play a lot worse than that and win before the end of the season.

"We have got to keep our heads and believe in ourselves a bit more. It is a set back but we have got to keep going."

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