Match report

Swansea City 0 v 1 Carlisle United

Report courtesy of Paul Abbandonato - Wales on Sunday

No magnificent seven for the Swans as the six match winning run impressively put together by Jan Molby's men came to a halt on a choker of an afternoon at the Vetch.

The biggest crowd for many a moon had packed into the stadium full of expectancy to see if the Swans could continue their march up the table in this promotion showdown. It was not to be though as defence-minded Carlisle put a stranglehold on the Swansea attack which they refused to let go from first whistle to last.

They came down from the North West for a draw. They went home with a win as Richard Prokas scored a 90th-minute goal to snatch the points in a real smash-and-grab raid.

Defeat was the last thing the Swans deserved. If they did not exactly outplay their opponents for large chunks of the match they were certainly more than a match for a team hotly tipped for promotion. But for all their hard work and hustle, the Swans lacked the guile needed to break down the packed Carlisle rearguard. And in the end they got nothing as Prokas pounced out of the blue in the closing seconds, turning 12 yards out and scuffing a low shot past Roger Freestone into the far corner of the net.

It was just about Carlisle's only attack of the second half and the expressions of the two sides when the ball nestled into the net told the whole story.

Carlisle celebrated as if they had won the World Cup. Swansea's shell-shocked players walked back to the halfway line with their heads in their hands, finding it hard to believe what had happened to them.

It was also disappointing because there was a real buzz around the Vetch before the game about the Swans' chances of continuing their winning streak. The club even had to delay the kick-off time by 10 minutes to allow the large queues that had formed to file into the ground.

It was all set for a right royal battle and Molby got the pulses racing straight away with a 20-yard free kick which he drilled around a five-man wall, only for Carlisle goalkeeper Caig to beat out the effort. But Carlisle, compact, quick and dangerous on the break, soon showed why they are favourites for themselves.

From one corner, two of their players had bites at goal, before the ball finally fell to Archdeacon, who badly blazed over the bar. Then Hayward's through ball sent Delap haring through a leaden-footed Swansea defence. Delap had a clear sight at goal, but, luckily, Roger Freestone was alert to block the shot with his legs and rescue the Swans.

With both sides so desperate to win, it was becoming a niggly affair. And tension spilled over when David Penney went in high on Prokas, both sides erupting in a bout of fisticuffs. When the handbags-at-10-paces business ended, the outcome was a booking for Penney for the original challenge.

The fracas rarely seemed to fire up the Swans and in the 2lst minute they were unlucky not to take the lead. Steve Jones swung over a deep cross from the rlght, Caig punched the ball into Penney's path under pressure from Steve Torpey, and the Swansea skipper's shot was headed off the line.

Swansea were suitably encouraged to decide that those diagonal balls into the box represented their best chance of breaking the deadlock. From another deep cross, Torpey headed inches wide, and then Caig tipped over a David Thomas header after Keith Walker had punted the ball in.

There was another free for all just before half-time, when Edmondson went in late on Freestone from a corner.

Again, the incident was not as bad as it looked and the end result was Edmondson being booked -joining Hayward, Prokas and Archdeacon on yellow cards.

It was a sign of how tenacious Carlisle were, and in the second half they were content to sit back and soak up the pressure, confident that they would not crack.

It meant that for all Swansea's dominance of possession, only twice did they look like scoring. From the first Penney's 20-yard drive flew inches over. From the second, Torpey's snap shot on the turn was saved by Caig.

It wasn't going to be Swansea's day - bot no one quite bargained for the sting in the tail.

Both sides seemed to have settled for a point when up popped Pokas to grab a11 three. Football can be a cruel game at times but Molby vowed: "We will bounce back from this."