Carlisle captain Thirlwell blasted for picking up fourth yellow card
Last updated 14:03, Monday, 29 September 2008
Carlisle United boss John Ward today criticised captain Paul Thirlwell for moving to the brink of suspension after just eight games of the season.
The midfielder received his fourth booking of the campaign as the stumbling Blues suffered their third straight defeat at Walsall.
The 2-1 setback pushed United down to seventh in League One – and another yellow card for skipper Thirlwell will bring an early suspension.
Saturday’s defeat also brought a booking for loan winger Jennison Myrie-Williams, who had to be kept apart from Saddlers sub Ishmel Demontagnac at the final whistle after a late flashpoint.
Ward dismissed that incident as “emotions running high – young people can make rash decisions sometimes”. But he was less forgiving towards his captain.
“Paul Thirlwell isn’t quite so young and he should know better than that,” said the Blues chief on the 29-year-old’s 52nd-minute foul.
“He disappointed me in that. I had spoken to him previously about it, saying he has to stay on his feet.
“As a captain he has got to be a bit better. Generally in the game he has done ok, but he has got another yellow and that’s not good.”
The defeat at the Banks’s Stadium, watched by 4,830 fans including 608 travelling United supporters, saw United tumble out of the top six for the first time in Ward’s year-long reign.
Danny Graham’s ninth-minute penalty miss was punished by goals from Dwayne Mattis and Jabo Ibehre either side of the break, with Marc Bridge-Wilkinson grabbing a late consolation from the spot.
And manager Ward admitted his side deserved nothing from their clash with the Saddlers, who jumped to fifth in League One.
“I was frustrated by the Jekyll and Hyde performance over the 90 minutes,” he said. “Our spirited effort at the end was too little, too late.
“We didn’t manage to do a bit more of that over the game. Walsall played pretty well and I’ve no grumbles about the scoreline.
“If we can weather this storm and pick up our form, we’ll be ok. But it’s a touch time for everyone at the minute – we’ve not had three straight defeats since I’ve been at the club.
“We’ve got to show some toughness and resilience next weekend.”
Ward should be boosted by the return of Peter Murphy from a knee injury in time for next Saturday’s visit of Tranmere.
- Ryan Bowman scored both goals for United’s youth team as they beat Oldham 2-1 on Saturday.
