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Carlisle United v Leeds United: Grayson looks at bigger picture
For what it is worth, Leeds United's elimination from the Johnstone's Paint Trophy came at the hands of the competition's specialists.
Carlisle United have contested the trophy's final no fewer than four times and a fifth appearance will be theirs next month, a record in a tournament which has taken many names and many guises but which might never be won by Leeds United.
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The Yorkshire club were first entered into the Football League's private cup in 2007 and after three unsuccessful attempts to make the most of it would rather not involve themselves again.
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They will play no further part this season having failed by the harsh difference of a penalty shoot-out to outwit Carlisle in the second leg of the northern area final.
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In it to win it was boss Simon Grayson's stance, but the sight of Carlisle's players walking from the tunnel at Wembley is unlikely to torture him, a day after Leeds visit Norwich City for a fixture which will help to apportion the League One title.
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That contrast is a sober reflection of the opportunity expended by Leeds last night, one they made a serious attempt to grasp but which would have provided nothing more than a trailer for the bigger picture.
Grayson will worry less about the consequences of defeat in Carlisle than the need for consistency amongst a squad whose victory over 90 minutes was their second in eight matches.
Carlisle held the stronger hand after their 2-1 win in the first leg at Elland Road and Adam Clayton's 33rd minute goal should have been a ticket to Wembley.
It rather inspired a classic second half, consisting of four goals and a recovery from Leeds which left Carlisle and their manager Greg Abbott rubbing their eyes.
Something in the early part of Carlisle's performance said they would survive where they failed in a League One play-off semi-final against Leeds two seasons ago, but their nerve wilted under United's invasive examination.
The 4-2 aggregate lead given to them by Kevan Hurst 18 minutes from time splintered dramatically beneath the strain of goals from Jason Crowe and Mike Grella, and it was an achievement in itself that Leeds forced a shoot-out.
The tie ultimately rested on Shane Lowry's saved penalty, the 14th of the night, but it will be remembered as keenly for the pitch invasion that followed, resulting in attacks on three of United's players.
Grayson was livid at the lack of protection given to his squad, and rightly so.
For him, the biggest satisfaction was the sight of Leeds taking up a fight which was weighted against them badly in the second half.
Nevertheless, his side played fluently only in patches and lacked conviction until the tie seemed lost. Whatever he feels at foregoing a place in the final, United's manager will see a defeat in Cumbria as a good time to draw a line under six weeks of peaks and troughs.
The trophy's credentials have long been a matter of debate in Leeds but Carlisle's opinion of the competition was unashamedly high.
The attraction of qualifying for the final needed "very little in the way of explanation" in the words of Abbott, but it ran deeper than the realisation of an appearance at Wembley. The promise of 500,000 generated by the final was far from immaterial, particularly for a club that has seen fewer pay-days of that sort than Leeds this season.
Last night's second leg inspired thoughts of the play-off semi-final contested by the teams 18 months ago, but it drew no legitimate comparison with a tie on which two entire seasons depended. With five league games ahead of Leeds before the end of this month, Grayson saw no justification for asking Jermaine Beckford to play through a hamstring strain.
He did, however, use all but one of the players who started the second half of Saturday's draw at Hartlepool United. It was his way of giving the fixture gravitas without risking unnecessarily a striker whom he considered indispensable during the January transfer window.
Leeds' recovery in 2008 was the result of a goal scored by Jonathan Howson after only 10 minutes, altering the dynamics of the semi-final before Carlisle could make anything of their advantage.
They should have repeated the trick last night but Robert Snodgrass' lay-off was pulled to the left of Adam Collin's goal by Luciano Becchio, a misguided shot from inside the box.
Carlisle had already been given a sniff of Casper Ankergren when Evan Horwood reached Clayton's pass and bundled the ball against the keeper's shins, but the game did not blossom as swiftly as it should have done.
Brunton Park echoed to the sound of Andy Hall's whistle, a tool that the referee could not restrain himself from using.
One award of a foul against Richard Naylor, given for an innocuous trip on Scott Dobie, ended in a forthright discussion between the centre-back and Hall and a free-kick from Graham Kavanagh that Ankergren punched out of his six-yard box. It was as feisty as the first half hour got.
Naylor's tussle with Dobie was a running battle between two old heads, fascinating in its own scrappy way, but their competitive edge unintentionally created Clayton's goal with 33 minutes played.
Dobie stumbled over under pressure from Naylor midway inside United's half and as Hall prepared to penalise Naylor, the ball deflected kindly towards Clayton's feet.
The midfielder found open space in front of him and had nothing more to do than advance at Ankergren and clip the ball home with a sweep of his right boot. It gave Leeds no choice but to chase the game without caution.
Gary McSheffrey had an immediate chance to score but held back on the edge of Carlisle's box and stabbed a pass from Howson weakly into the hands of Collin, grateful once again for a forgiving finish.
United's display lacked execution, epitomised by Max Gradel cutting the ball back to Kavanagh after breaking away down the left wing and McSheffrey being dispossessed on a rare occasion when Leeds found three of their attacking players eye to eye with three retreating defenders.
What seemed to be missing was the poise and control offered in midfield by Neil Kilkenny, available last night after injury but named on the bench. With well-judged patience, Grayson declined to change his line-up until the 66th minute.
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Carlisle's organisation deserted them at half-time and their dishevelled manner was exploited by Robert Snodgrass who reacted to a rising ball by beating Collin's punch and flicking a header into the net. Barely 40 seconds of the second half had elapsed.
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Snodgrass' goal had the desired effect, rattling the nerves of Abbott's players and tempting them to cut their cloth by sitting on their lead. Only with the help of an offside flag was it defended in the 68th minute when Crowe met a Becchio header at the far post.
That decision seemed to be pivotal. Four minutes later, Hurst punished a laboured attempt by Lubomir Michalik to clear the ball and dinked a shot into the far corner of Ankergren's net. Abbott had the protection he needed, but his team imploded.
Crowe's volley at the back post kept the tie interesting and Mike Grella's header from McSheffrey's cross, converted on 86 minutes, made it fascinating.
Carlisle were grateful for penalties. They were to be their saving grace.
Collin saved from Bradley Johnson and Richard Keogh cleared the crossbar with a laughable effort.
Five apiece after 13 penalties, Collin settled matters when he dived to his right and threw two hands in front of Lowry's shot. Cue an invasion which neither the police nor Carlisle's stewards showed great interest in quelling.
No Wembley for Leeds United then, in theory at least. Grayson must hope it stays that way.
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Weather for Leeds
Saturday 11 February 2012
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Temperature: -2 C to 0 C
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