It’s amazing what alcohol can do to the memory. A 6.30am start coupled with a large amount of Strongbow denotes that, unfortunately, the Carlisle game is somewhat of a blur. Why couldn’t this have been the case for virtually any other game this season in which the Albion have been generally shocking? Not being able to recount the horror shows of Walsall at home and Brentford away would have been a blessing in diguise. But no. Our first win in Cumbria in 10 years, with just over 300 super fans making the trip, and I cannot recall much other than Michel Kuipers kicking the ball off the goal line. Although, of course, my mind may have just made that up.

To be honest, Carlisle were absolutely wank and if they are not swimming around the bottom four attempting not to drown then it will take a) a massive improvement and 2) the quality of this league to be extremely poor (which, bar Leeds and Charlton, it looks like it might be). Even there own fans admitted on the walk back to the station that they were in a world of trouble, and this may go part of the way to explaining how we won.

If Carlisle’s general ineptitude was half the reason for our win, then the other half was Nicky Forster. Two more goals for the old git taking his tally to five for the season and making a mockery of the decision earlier in the season to play one up front with him on the bench. Worryingly, he won’t be able to continue in this vein of form for the rest of the season as if injury doesn’t set in, then fatigue certainly will. When that happens, we could well be joining Carlisle in a world of trouble as goals dry up and we go back to the struggles of early August.

The new wide men both created chances again, and Kuipers made a couple of good saves. And that is about as far as my memory of footballing action at Carlisle United away 2009 goes. Probably one of our best results of the season and I can’t remember any of it. Bloody typical