Curle: We were too fancy for my liking
CARLISLE kept up the pressure on their rivals at the top of League Two as an impressive first-half display proved enough to see off the challenge of Yeovil.
United boss Keith Curle joked that he thought some of his players had left for their Christmas party at half-time as the visitors threatened a comeback after the break.
But Shaun Brisley’s spectacular long-range volley and a near-post header from Charlie Wyke put the Cumbrians in command before Nathan Smith reduced the deficit with another header.
Curle said: “We started the game well and we deserved a two-goal lead at the break but then we allowed Yeovil to score at the start of the second half, which gave them a lift.
“We didn’t want that to happen and we spoke about it at half-time. And after they scored they made life very difficult for us.
“The lads have got their Christmas party tonight and at one point I started to wonder if some of them had gone off early to get their fancy dress sorted!
“But we made sure we defended well and managed to see the game out thanks to the character of the lads and the unity we’ve got in the squad.”
Yeovil have now suffered back-to-back defeats after an eightgame unbeaten run had lifted them into the play-off positions.
Manager Darren Way said: “I’m disappointed we didn’t get anything out of the game because we played well in the second half and caused them a lot of problems.
“Having said that, we’ve run one of the top teams in the division very close and that didn’t happen against Plymouth and Doncaster earlier in the season.
“As a team we are a threat to anyone in this league now and we have to make sure we get our heads right for the games over Christmas now.
“We made some poor decisions in the first half which led to their goals, but our players will learn from that and will react differently in future.”
Carlisle went ahead on ten minutes when Brisley struck a powerful volley from 35 yards out that dipped over Artur Krysiak and into the back of the net.
And the Cumbrians doubled their lead on 35 minutes, when Wyke headed in an Adams corner at the near post.
Just three minutes into the second half Smith pulled a goal back as he headed home at the back post from Ryan Hedges’ corner.
But Carlisle then defended resiliently to hold on and claim a crucial three points.