Brighton and Hove Albion 4 Carlisle United 3

Mar 6 2011 Sunday Sun

Greg Abbott went with an unchanged side for the trip to table-toppers Brighton following the impressive win at promotion-chasing Charlton on Tuesday night.

He was left wondering how his side had come away with nothing at the end of a game which had just about everything – including two goals deep into time added on which ultimately brought heartbreak for the hard-working Cumbrian outfit.

It was a dream start for Carlisle as a third-minute corner delivery from Berrett caused all kinds of problems in the box.

Murphy stretched to meet the loose ball and his touch set it up nicely for Tom Taiwo, who crunched a firm volley into the roof of the net.

Liam Noble fired a long-range effort over the bar as the visitors grew in confidence, but the Seagulls regrouped and started to see more of the ball.

Former Blues striker Glenn Murray rattled the crossbar when he volleyed a Dicker free-kick past Adam Collin.

Bennett then created an opening as Brighton flooded forward when he found space on the right.

His curling shot had power, but it was always heading over.

The home side got back on level terms in controversial circumstances when Glenn Murray raced on to a through ball from an offside position.

The prolific striker ignored the appeals and calmly claimed his 17th goal of the season as the protestations from the Carlisle contingent began.

Brighton looked the more likely and both Calderon and Murray tested Collin, but the visitors weathered the storm and kept their vibrant hosts at arms length.

Marcos Painter brought the best out of Collin with a rangy run and shot on 46 minutes, but Carlisle got away with it from the resulting corner when the unmarked Gordon Greer nodded over from just 10 yards out.

Tommy Elphick repeated the feat as the Seagulls found more unexpected space, and United had to be patient as their attention turned to protecting their increasingly fragile goal.

Ashley Barnes found a chink in the armour when he outpaced Murphy before drilling his volley past the onrushing Carlisle stopper.

The Cumbrians equalised in emphatic fashion on the hour when Ben Marshall received a touch on from Zoko.

He wriggled through three challenges before sweeping a fierce shot past the desperate dive of Ankergren.

The lead was short-lived as Ashley Barnes beat the offside trap to trap a hopeful ball over the top.

He took a touch before registering his second of the game via the woodwork.

The balance of power swung again and an Ankergren punch from a Berret corner had Peter Murphy interested. The goalkeeper made amends for his weak clearance with a full-length fingertip save.

To their credit, Carlisle kept going and they thought they had earned a point when debut boy Harry Arter drilled home a mishit shot from Simek to send the fans behind the goal wild.

However, Brighton piled forward and grabbed a sensational winner when Liam Bridcutt found space to scissor- kick his winner past Collin with the last kick of the game.