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The Cumbrians player-coach pressed into action as an experiment upfront with Carlisle's chronic lack of striking options seeing the front two consist of a central midfielder and a failed right-winger. Surprisingly though Kavanagh was the star of the show for United as he held the ball up well with his back to goal, won his fair share of headers and also brought others into the game with a tidy range of short passing, the 35-year old also weighing in with a well-taken goal.
The early stages were all action as both sides got stuck in without really creating anything clear-cut. Paul Thirlwell's blocked shot on the edge of the City penalty area after four minutes seeing the home side then break quickly forward as eventually Joe Colbeck, perhaps a little selfishly, fired well wide of Lenny Pidgeley's goal from long range. Michael Boulding then shortly afterwards sending a ten-yard header from a Peter Thorne cross over the top for the Bantams.
In all honesty it was City who were having the better of things, mainly due to some poor defending in the United ranks, and also a big lack of cover in front the of the Carlisle back four, both in the middle but also out wide. Ian Harte in particular having a torrid time as he was often outpaced by Colbeck on the right, with Matty Robson offering little help to Harte.
Those points making it all the more surprising that defensive midfielder Tom Taiwo received all the post-match plaudits from Carlisle boss Greg Abbott following the game considering the amount of unguarded midfield running that was made into the United box in the first-half. That point of view further strengthened by the fact that Abbott refused to blame his defence for the conceding of three soft goals.
The opening goal of the game coming down that problematic left-hand side on ten minutes when Colbeck's cross in was headed back by Thorne at the Blues far-post. Former Luton man Steve O'Leary, currently on trial at with Bradford - from where incidentally former Blue Grant Smith has just been released after failing to win a permanent contract - the man to profit as he raced in unmarked to volley right-footed into the net off the right glove of Pidgeley from around the penalty spot area.
Up at the other end a Cleveland Taylor cross-shot just evaded Anyinsah at the City back-stick moments later before in the 14th minute City were able to clear their ranks after some good approach play by Kavanagh. The United striker then two minutes later working a useful shooting opportunity for himself only to see his right-footed 20-yard effort deflect away off the body of Anyinsah.
Bradford having similar bad luck sixty seconds on when a nice cross in from the left by Luke O'Brien was knocked back into the middle by Colbeck, Thorne's ten-yard right-footed volley though pinging away off an unsuspecting Boulding. Some more rotten Carlisle defending saw City make it 2-0 on 21 minutes following an excellent Pidgeley tip wide from a close range Thorne header.
A Colbeck flag-kick in, from the corner of the ground in which 172 Cumbrians were housed, flicking at the near-post either off the head of Kavanagh or Thorne across goal and into the far corner of the United net. The old adage that Danny Livesey and Richard Keogh can't play at centre-half together again looking a correct one as the Blues were all at sea in defence at times with Peter Murphy sitting on the substitutes bench.
Pidgeley himself making a cock-up after 25 minutes when his poor throw went straight to Lee Bullock, the City man then laying possession on for Chris Brandon to force a good recovery save out of Pidgeley from 22 yards out. The home side got a prior warning from Kavanagh four minutes later when, from a Harte pass, he brought out a useful save out of Bantams loanee-goalkeeper (from Huddersfield) Simon Eastwood with a right-footed 20-yarder.
That foolishness by the City defence in sitting off Kavanagh did cost them on 32 minutes however after Keogh had made a real meal of clearing out of the United defensive ranks from almost on his own by-line. Kavanagh, from another Harte ball-up, turning sharply on the edge of the home penalty area before curling an excellent right-footed shot across Eastwood and into the far corner of the Bantams net.
Like London buses two Carlisle goals came in two minutes as the scoreline became 2-2 just sixty seconds later. Matt Clarke's gamble to win the ball off Robson, as advantage was being played for a foul on Anyinsah by Durham referee Nigel Miller, failing badly as Robson was then left clear to race down the left-hand channel before shooting from just outside the six-yard box instead of crossing to an unmarked Kavanagh. Robson's luck was in though as his left-footed effort flicked off the leg of Zesh Rehman and flew past a bamboozled Eastwood in the Bradford net.
With 37 minutes on the clock Harte went close for the Cumbrians with a left-footed volley just wide from the City 'D', before Carlisle completed a full turn around in the game when they made it 3-2 on 42 minutes after David Raven's right-wing cross had been cleared out for a corner. Robson's whipped ball in seeing Bantams goalkeeper Eastwood waving to his mum in the crowd as Anyinsah jumped in ahead of him to head into an empty home net from six yards out.
Raven then called into action in a defensive capacity when he headed clear under pressure before Anyinsah had the final chance of the opening period for the Cumbrians. His right-footed shot from 22 yards out though zooming just over the top of the City crossbar as Blues fans started to head down into the depths of the stand to sample some rather over-priced catering, Carlsberg at £3.30 a bottle being one such example.
Neither side made a change to their starting eleven during the break and it looked like those elevens were still on interval time as the pace dropped alarmingly in the second-half. Boulding for Bradford and then Tom Taiwo for Carlisle only swapping mid-range shots wide on 55 minutes and the hour-mark respectively as the match turned a little stagnant.
The only things to happen of note now being a raft of substitutions as Michael Burns replaced Taiwo for Carlisle after 63 minutes, James Hanson then coming on for Thorne on 67 minutes and Gareth Evans replacing Boulding three minutes later as City made their only two changes in the game. Scott Dobie for Carlisle replacing Anyinsah upfront as well at the same time as former Macclesfield striker Evans entered the fray.
Colbeck, left unmarked at a short corner as United dozed at the back, hitting a right-footed 22-yarder straight into the arms of Pidgeley in the middle of the fourth official's busy spell with the substitutes board. It was some sloppy play from their own flag-kick though which cost Carlisle the win in the 79th minute just as they looked to be coasting to victory as the game was being played out at a pedestrian pace.
Burns, trying a short corner with Kavanagh, only giving the ball straight to the home side who broke away at speed down the pitch before eventually winning a flag-kick when Steve O'Leary's cross-shot deflected wide off the legs of Raven. Evans then the goalscorer with an easy close-range finish after the Blues had shown a drop in concentration again when they failed to clear properly the corner, as well as the following cross in from the left.
That incident was Kavanagh's last moment in the game as he was immediately replaced upfront at kick-off by Gary Madine, before Gavin Rothery then came on for Thirlwell in the 82nd minute. United themselves unable to nick what would have been a late winner when firstly Taylor at the City far-post could only head a Robson left-wing cross back across goal and wide of the target from only six yards out, before Rothery hit a left-footed 22-yarder over the top as the clock ticked into injury time.
City line-up :
Simon Eastwood, Simon Ramsden, Luke O'Brien, Steve O'Leary, Zesh Rehman, Matthew Clarke, Joe Colbeck, Lee Bullock, Michael Boulding, (Gareth Evans 73), Peter Thorne (James Hanson 68), Chris Brandon.
Unused substitutes :
Jon McLaughlin (GK), Steve Williams, Jonathan Bateson, James O'Brien, Leon Osborne and Luke Sharry.
United line-up :
Lenny Pidgeley, David Raven, Ian Harte, Danny Livesey, Richard Keogh, Tom Taiwo (Michael Burns 66), Paul Thirlwell (Gavin Rothery 84), Cleveland Taylor, Graham Kavanagh (Gary Madine 80), Joe Anyinsah (Scott Dobie 73), Matty Robson.
Unused substitutes :
Adam Collin (GK), Tony Kane, Evan Horwood, Peter Murphy and Conor Tinnion.
Referee - Nigel Miller (Durham).
Attendance - 1,163 (172 away fans).
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