"I WAS THERE"

All runs, good or bad, have to come to an end some time.
With Southend having gone thirteen matches without defeat and Carlisle searching for their first win in thirteen attempts, odds for a home victory looked pretty bleak. But football has a habit of turning up the unexpected and so it proved with the Cumbrians recording their first home victory of the season with a goal from Ian Stevens and a double from Scott Dobie.
The significant improvement over recent weeks had a lot to do with the return of Tony Hemmings to the left side of midfield allowing Ian Atkins to revert to 4-4-2 and a more balanced look to the side.
In Matty Glennon, on loan from Bolton, the home side had the benefit of a goalkeeper willing to come off his line for crosses and the resulting growth in confidence instilled into the back four was evident.
A delighted Ian Atkins said: " I am pleased for the supporters, because the were magnificent again today, and for the players who've worked hard and you could see the relief after the game. We stayed focused today, with everyone doing their job. We now need to put some results together and we have games coming up with the likes of Hull and Lincoln which I think are winnable."
The home side showed their intentions as early as the fourth minute when Ian Stevens latched on to a long clearance from Matty Glennon only to have his shot cleared off the line by David Morley.
The Cumbrians opener came seven minutes later, when another long clearance from Glennon was flicked on by Scott Dobie into the path of Stevens, who drew the keeper before slotting home from 12 yards.
On 27 minutes the Blues increased their lead when Dobie's pace got him to Stuart Whitehead's long ball ahead of keeper Daryl Flahavan, before placing his right foot shot from an acute angle.
Southend almost got a goal back two minutes later when Russell Williamson shot over from Damon Searle's long free kick.
Following the break David Webb's harsh words appeared to get the away side going as a Scott Forbes 52nd minute free kick flew narrowly over the bar. Martin Carruthers then went close twice with headers before David Lee's 86th minute shot from Trevor Fitzpatrick's pass pulled a goal back for the Shrimpers.
However, the home supporters nerves only had to jangle for sixty seconds as Scott Dobie headed home from Mick Galloway's cross to the give the Cumbrians a well deserved win and three valuable points.
The boost in confidence comes at a good time with a potential "banana skin" home FA Cup tie to Woking next week.