Fleetwood Town ended up sharing the spoils with Carlisle United on the opening day of the season as the game finished 1-1 at Brunton Park on Saturday afternoon.
The tight affair saw Carlisle take the lead through Owen Moxon but in the added time of the first half, Brendan Wiredu produced a thunderstrike, therefore cancelling the Cumbrians’ advantage and earning a first point on the road this campaign.
In a closely contested opening ten minutes with both sides trying to get those vital first passes to settle the nerves on the first day of the season, Carlisle started the brighter as Jordan Gibson’s strike from 20 yards was down the throat of Jay Lynch.
Not long after, Town managed to break forward in Danny Mayor who drove deep into the hosts’ half and set up Promise Omochere, but his effort was smothered by Tomas Holy – moments after Fleetwood regained possession and countered again, this time Josh Vela’s header didn’t trouble Holy.
Just before the half an hour mark, Moxon drifted a free-kick to Paul Huntington at the back-post but a combination of Wiredu and Omochere forced the effort off the line out for a corner which came to nothing.
On the 35-minute mark, Carlisle took the lead through Moxon in spectacular fashion, a free-kick from 25 yards which Lynch couldn’t get close to, the Cumbrians carried a bit of momentum going into the final few moments of the first half as Gibson again struck from an angle but Lynch held it well.
Right before the halfway stage Town pressed and tested the hosts’ defence with a number of players’ efforts but out of nowhere Wiredu struck the bouncing ball right into the far corner leaving Holy no-chance as Town made it all square at the break.
Soon as the second half got underway, the Fin Back pulled the ball to the six-yard box as Gibson couldn’t direct it goal-bound and the hosts’ attacks early in the second half and the hosts’ attacks that followed fizzled out.
Shaun Rooney down the right was played in-behind as Mayor managed to evade a few tackles from blue shirts but Holy was equal to it to smother it – Town came again though as Vela’s ball across the box found Omochere but his effort was dragged wide.
On the hour mark, Carlisle got behind Town’s back-line as Back’s drifted ball was testing for Lynch as it could have gone anywhere but Lynch parried it over the bar and the resulting attack resulted to nothing.
Vela found space in the middle to carry the ball forward, he found Rooney down the right whose cross into the box found Jack Marriott but he couldn’t connect with the ball and Holy got down with ease.
With 11 minutes of injury time, both sides pushed the other all the way back but no difference to the scoreline could be made – Joe Garner came the closest as a fantastic last-second reaction save by Lynch put an end to any further attacks.
Town XI: Lynch (GK), Johnston, Wiredu (Rooney 48’), Robertson, Vela, Mayor, Graydon (Asamoah 86’), Omochere (Marriott 62’), Nsiala, Earl, Patterson (Hayes 86’).
Subs not used: McMullan (GK), Quitirna.
United XI: Holy (GK), Back, Armer, Moxon (Charters 78’), Lavelle, Huntington, Gibson (McGeouch 78’), Guy, McCalmont (Maguire 68’), Mellish, Plange (Garner 67’).
Subs not used: Breeze (GK), Harris, Barclay.