Swindon’s unbeaten run came to an end at the hands of Carlisle after Callum O’Hare’s late strike ensured a 2-1 win for the Cumbrians.
Hallam Hope opened the scoring with a deflected strike after 12 minutes before Kyle Bennett levelled the scoring with a sublime free-kick just before half-time – his second in two games.
O’Hare popped up late on to seal three points for the Cumbrians despite a dominant second-half performance from the visitors.
First Half
Carlisle started the half with plenty of the ball but not much penetration – Swindon were content to sit in and wait for their chance to break but after wasting a couple of opportunities to do just that, they found themselves behind.
Hallam Hope latched onto a through ball and went for goal on his second touch – his effort was going towards the far corner but an unfortunate deflection took the ball away from Lawrence Vigouroux and into the net.
On 15 minutes, Tom Broadbent almost provided a perfect response – grappling with his man from a corner, he headed goalwards only for Adam Collin to tip over.
Town were struggling to stop the Cumbrians from playing in between the lines but a change of personnel and shape from Richie Wellens made the difference – Keshi Anderson came on for Jak McCourt as Town moved into a 4-2-3-1 formation and pressed the Carlisle back four relentlessly.
And Anderson’s presence brought about the equaliser – he was fouled, foolishly, on the edge of the box with five minutes left of the half. Kyle Bennett grabbed his second in two games with a sublime free-kick that floated over the wall and post a helpless Collin.
Second Half
Swindon started the second half much improved from the first, and maintained it well – Kaiyne Woolery was giving the Carlisle back four a torrid time too.
His powerful running enabled him to open up from 20 yards but Collin got behind it and five minutes later, a delightful touch round the corner set the speedster away only for his cutback to meet a bundle of Carlisle defenders.
Keshi Anderson was next to almost convert this one-way traffic - the substitute picked up the ball on the centre circle, moved wide, cut in on his left and struck but the Carlisle keeper palmed out.
And then the tide turned – out of the blue, Gary Liddle had the ball in the back of the net but his header was disallowed for offside.
However, three minutes later the ball hit the net again - and this one stuck. Callum O’Hare picked up space in the box and struck low past Vigouroux.
The Town keeper kept the visitors within touching distance with a strong save from Nathan Thomas and that could have been all important had referee, Ben Toner seen Anthony Gerrard’s handball differently. Keshi toe-poked towards goal and a mix of Gerrard’s body and arm stopped the ball on its flight.
After James Dunne’s booking for his protests, Carlisle saw out the remainder of the game to leave Town with a long trip home pointless.
