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The Blues dominated possession throughout but they were particularly wasteful in front of goal and failed to take a host of reasonable chances. As early as the first minute they were in for the kill when Simon Hackney got on the end of a Luke Joyce pass, only for Hackney to see his shot well saved by Kendal keeper Mark Thornley. Four minutes later Thornley was again in the thick of the action as he smothered a through ball from Peter Murphy just as Kevin Gall was looking to profit.
In the 18th minute a neat one-two between Murphy and Derek Holmes sent Murphy clear as he sidestepped the last Town defender, only for the Dubliner to curl his right-footed effort wide of the target. Seconds later a Chris Lumsdon free-kick in was well cleared away by Paul Sparrow, then in the 26th minute Raphael Nade wasted a great opportunity for Carlisle when he headed over the Kendal bar from a pinpoint Murphy cross.
After 31 minutes it was Gall who missed a good chance for United as Thornley miscontrolled a ball over the top just outside his penalty area. Gall nipped in to nick possession off the keeper's toes, only to send his shot wide of an open goal. The home side came back into things and in the 34th minute David Foster got a good low cross in from the right, only to see the ball sneak inches past the outstretched boot of Paul Osbourne in front of the United goal.
The Blues made the breakthrough in the 37th minute though when Gall sent Nade away down the right, the Ivorian-born striker crossing in for Holmes to power a close-range header home past the helpless Thornley. The Carlisle lead didn't last long though when Kendal pulled back level just four minutes later, former Birmingham City striker Chris Ward sending Foster one-on-one with Williams, Foster making no mistake as he fired gleefully into the United net.
Two Kendal corners in the 53rd minute led to an Arnison clearance and Hackney racing away into the distance, the ex-Woodley Sports flyer eventually earning a free-kick near the edge of the Town box. Lumsdon curled the ball over the Kendal defensive wall but Holmes was unable to get his header on target and the chance was gone. It was a Lumsdon delivery that created another chance six minutes later, a corner in seeing Grand unable to really test Thornley with a close-range header.
United made mass changes on the hour-mark, a feature of manager Neil McDonald's pre-season tactics, and it was one of those substitutes, in Michael Bridges, who restored the Carlisle lead just three minutes after entering the fray. Adam Murray driving a low 20-yard free-kick, after Bridges himself had been fouled, which Thornley could only parry out straight to the feet of the ex-Leeds man for an easy tap-in.
Blues keeper Anthony Williams was able to hold on to a long-range barnstormer from Ged Smith in the 71st minute as Kendal looked for a way back into the game. Four minutes later some sublime skill by Bridges saw his strike-partner Karl Hawley fire into the Town side-netting from a tight angle as United got back on top once more. Carlisle had a goal disallowed moments later when Hawley crossed from the by-line for Glenn Murray to head home from six yards out, only for the assistant referee to put his flag up as the ball had gone behind and then come back into play.
In the 79th minute some good approach play and a shot by Hawley saw the Blues win a corner which Murphy could only blaze well over the Kendal crossbar. Then shortly afterwards Adam Murray made Thornley work for his coin when he put in a testing free-kick which the Town keeper did well to take. Bridges had a couple of snapshots as the clock ticked down but neither one tested Thornley and the scoreline remained 2-1 to United at the final whistle.
Kendal line-up :
Mark Thornley, Paul Rigby, Craig Redhead, Paul Sparrow, Ricky Mercer (Andy Hill 18), Paul Osbourne, Ged Smith, Ian Kilford, David Foster (Mike Kewley 46).
Unused substitutes :
Scott Redhead, Pete Smith, White and Wood.
Carlisle line-up :
Anthony Williams, Paul Arnison, Kevin Gray, Simon Grand (Danny Livesey 60), Peter Murphy, Raphael Nade (Adam Murray 60), Luke Joyce (Chris Billy 60), Chris Lumsdon (Paul Murray 60), Simon Hackney (Glenn Murray 60), Kevin Gall (Karl Hawley 60), Derek Holmes (Michael Bridges 60).
Unused substitutes :
Keiren Westwood, Dan Kirkup, Pete Ferris and Adam Bradley.