Carlisle manager Paul Simpson bemoaned what he felt was a “huge error” from the officials that cost his side a point after Tuesday’s 2-1 defeat to promotion rivals Northampton.
Jack Armour stroked Carlisle into a 50th-minute lead at Sixfields despite suspicions of offside, however the Cobblers scored twice in the next six minutes through Sam Sherring and Louis Appere to turn the game on its head.
The visitors applied pressure in search of an equaliser and Tobi Sho-Silva did have the ball in the net late on but the goal was ruled out for offside against Paul Huntington.
Simpson said: “Unfortunately, if you have a spell like we did for three or four minutes, against a team who consistently cause you problems, you’re not going to win many games.
“But we scored an equaliser that should have stood and unfortunately I think the linesman has been swayed from the first goal when he was abused by the crowd for not giving offside.
“It was actually the correct decision because (Aaron) McGowan plays Jack (Ellis) onside by five yards. It was definitely onside and it was a good goal but the linesman has then made a huge error.
“He told me Paul Huntingdon was offside but he wasn’t. He’s totally onside and the goal should have stood.
“But, in saying that, we have thrown that game away and that’s the disappointing thing because we had an opportunity to climb the table and we have let it slip.”
Northampton have now opened up a seven-point cushion back to fourth in the League Two table.
“First and foremost, Carlisle are a really good side,” said manager Jon Brady. “You can see why they are competing at the top of the table this season because it was a tough game for us.
“I think the hardest thing for both managers was the physical side of it. Both sides had 17 days without a game and we have found it tough to find surfaces and pitches to train on because of the weather and a lot of our players can’t get on astro.
“We didn’t know where we would be physically and you’re left wondering if you have done enough but I thought we were physically strong, especially in the first half.
“We had a lot of entries into their third without them having too much against us and I felt we dominated without testing their goalkeeper until Sam (Hoskins) had that shot just before half-time.
“I’m pleased with the win and it was really, really good to come from behind again. Obviously I would want us to score the first goal more often but we have been way better at winning from behind this season and it’s great that we can do that.”
