The landmarks keep getting chalked up for Carlisle’s number 14 Joe Garner who, after hitting career appearance number 550 last weekend, notched up his 30th league goal for the Cumbrians at the same time as making it 150 career goals in total when he nodded the ball over the line just as the clock ticked through minute number 90 on Saturday afternoon.
We tried to squeeze a few more numbers into that intro – apologies, we failed!
Speaking about his striker after the game, Paul Simpson said: “It was a great header from Joe and I’m delighted he’s got his 150th career goal.
“That’s a brilliant achievement so hopefully we can keep getting the best out of him with the role that he’s playing for us at the moment.
“It was a good corner from Owen Moxon and Joe was just on the spot for it, and that’s because he gets himself into good areas. He’s a real threat.
“I was really pleased to see it go in the back of the net and, like I say, that’s a great achievement from Joe.
“It was the quality from Mox that created it but I don’t actually think it was his greatest game by a long way. He’s been caught on the ball a few times in the last two games, so he needs to start getting back to what he’s all about because he’s not showing the level of ability that we all know he has.”
“With Joe, that’s why we brought him into the club, because we wanted that sort of thing,” he added. “Even when he wasn’t travelling with the squad the other week, when everybody started to wonder and I heard rumours there had been a row and all those sorts of rubbish things that go out, we hadn’t had a fall out at all.
“I just felt it was right for other players on the bench. The last two games he’s come on and done a job. Listen, if he keeps coming off the bench and getting goals there’s a place for him.
“There’s a place in our 18 and we’ve got to make sure we keep him right, and hopefully the 150 is just the start of him going on for even more.
“That number of goals shows he’s got an incredible desire to score. There’s a lot of players, particularly now with modern day players, they don’t see the value in scoring goals.
“It is a massive part of it. If you can be a striker or midfielder who’s got goals, a centre back if you can score from set plays, the way we play with wing backs we need them to chip in with goals as well, if you’ve got that it doesn’t half give you a great career.”
On the accuracy of the header, he commented: “Joe said it was well over the line. I haven’t seen it yet, fair play to the assistant on this side, he gave it, he was brave enough to stand by it and give it.
“If it was over, then we absolutely deserve it. Look, it’s two strikers who scored, but it doesn’t matter who gets them, I really don’t care.
“We’ve just got to score goals, it’s as simple as that. We’ve missed far too many opportunities already this season. We haven’t been clinical enough when we’ve had them, so it doesn’t matter who gets them.
“The important thing is that we pick up points, and if we can get them on the road they’re even more valuable. The more we get the more we keep moving forward.”