Carlisle men’s first team had a disastrous opening 20 minutes against Norton and were 3-0 down.
But the city side fought back well and after a free-scoring game did well to end it all square at 5-5.
Carlisle started poorly in the wet and windy conditions, conceding those three early goals to a well organised Norton side.
Lapses in concentration cost them dearly leaving the home side with a mountain to climb to get back into the game.
Carlisle began to find their mojo when good play from Jamie Snaith in the middle of the park saw him linking up with Rob Whiteley to give them opportunities to gain some momentum.
A penalty stroke from Snaith gave Carlisle their first goal and skipper Ben Davidson (with his first goal of the season) converted a short corner in the last five minutes of the first half to give them a boost at the break.
Trailing 3-2 at half-time Carlisle knew they couldn’t afford another lacklustre start and winning another penalty corner within the first five minutes was exactly the start they wanted. Davidson was able to tuck it away at the back post to double his tally.
Carlisle kept up their good work, shifting the ball around the back to open up the space inside.
A lovely move was finished off by Snaith who tucked one nicely away in the bottom corner on his reverse.
Carlisle, ahead for the first time, needed to keep their intensity but unfortunately switched-off for ten minutes and lost their shape.
Norton were able to capitalise on this, scoring two goals in quick succession to take the lead once again. As a result frustration built up as Carlisle searched for an equaliser.
Whiteley was able to win the home side a penalty corner in the last five minutes of the game. A cracking drag that pinged off the underside of the bar gave Carlisle their equaliser and salvaged a point.
It was another learning curve for the team ahead of their trip to Morpeth this weekend, which will be another tough game.
