Carlisle City climbed to the top of the Northern League Division One table on Friday evening after a dramatic late turnaround saw them overturn a one-goal deficit to claim all three points against West Allotment Celtic.

The hosts struck first in the 23rd minute when debutant Djalo marked his first appearance for Allotment with a simple tap-in, finishing off a wellworked move that sliced through the Carlisle defence.

Carlisle responded with increasing pressure and were rewarded five minutes before the break. A corner caused chaos in the home defence, and when the ball was only half-cleared, Birdsall was quickest to react, smashing home from close range to level the scores.

West Allotment could have gone into the interval ahead when Linzinde found himself clean through on goal, but the forward’s low effort was smartly saved by the visiting goalkeeper to keep the sides level at the break.

The decisive moment came in the final quarter of the match. Palmer broke clear of the Allotment backline and saw his initial effort come back off the post, but he reacted quickest to tuck away the rebound and put Carlisle ahead.

With twelve minutes remaining, Carlisle sealed the victory in bizarre fashion. An Allotment defender, attempting to shield the ball out for a goal kick, was caught in possession. The loose ball was worked into the box where Kerr, left completely unmarked, calmly slotted home to wrap up the points and send Carlisle to the summit of the table.