Chester were the visitors to Carlisle today as United looked to solidify their position at the top of the Pontin's Holiday League Division One West Table.
Adam Murray returned to action for the Blues after his foot and back injuries and put in a hard-working 58 minutes before being substituted for youth-teamer James Earl.
United started brightly and had the first chance just sixty seconds in, Dan Dillon laid the ball to Adam Murray but the ex-Derby schemer could only blaze his 20-yard drive wide.
On five minutes Jamie McClen and Brendan McGill combined well down the left but the diminutive winger’s ball in was cleared for a corner. From the resultant flag-kick put across by McClen to the far-post Glenn Murray was left all alone but he blasted over from just ten yards out.
Two minutes later United were again making chances from a McClen set-piece. This time it was Simon Grand who was unmarked at the back-post but his close-range header was parried and then tipped over by Chester’s trialist keeper Sean Lake.
The game was very patchy and went through long spells where nothing seemed to happen but the ball being given away by both sides in the middle of the park.
After 18 minutes Karl Noon played a good ball into the edge of the box for the visitors where Abdou El Kholti was lurking. The French-born midfielder controlled the ball and hit a low left-foot shot across Anthony Williams’s goal but the effort went well wide.
Three minutes later it was striker Marcus Richardson who was played in by the impressive Noon but he could only blaze over after turning well on the edge of the United box.
On 23 minutes Andy Hardman picked the ball up for the Blues after some scrappy play and tried his luck with a 20-yarder but it was deflected straight into the hands of Lake.
Bang on the half-hour mark McClen tugged the shirt of Paul Rutherford to give Chester a free-kick just outside the United box. Bolland blasted the set-piece towards the target but it was deflected out for a corner.
Three minutes later Richardson missed a good chance for the visitors as he headed a right-wing cross by Freddie Potter over the Cumbrians’ bar and just sixty seconds later Hardman hit a mid-range drive straight at City keeper Lane from an Andrews ball in.
On 36 minutes Carlisle were forced to make their first substitution as Dillon came off with what looked like a calf problem to be replaced by youth team midfielder Paul Gardiner.
Two minutes later Bolland headed out of his own box straight to Adam Murray 30 yards out. Murray steadied himself, looked up and struck a low drive at the Chester goal but it was the assistant referee who almost had to take evasive action as the ball screwed out of play near the corner-flag.
United were having a good spell of pressure just before half-time and on 41 minutes Gardiner ran in well from the left but he could only toe-poke his shot past the far-post.
Two minutes later Hardman laid the ball off to McGill who beat his man to the by-line and stood up a good ball in but Lake came off his line quickly and collected well.
Shortly after came perhaps Carlisle’s best chance of the half. Adam Murray and McGill worked the ball well to lay a pass just inside the box for the onrushing McClen but his side-footed effort curled well over the bar.
Three minutes after the interval Tom Curle, the son of Chester first-team boss Keith Curle, who was in attendance at the game, tried a left-footed curler from the edge of the box but it went straight down the throat of Williams.
The visitors had come out well in the second half and on 55 minutes Paul Rutherford made a good run in from the right-wing but his left-footed effort sliced wide of United’s far-post.
A minute later Hardman was put through by McClen, but as he challenged with Chester centre-half Dove his toe-poked shot dribbled agonisingly wide of the near-post.
United were coming back into the game now and on 57 minutes a Glenn Murray header from a Lee Andrews cross in looped onto the roof of the City net.
Seconds later Adam Murray was replaced by James Earl. The one-time England under-21 international came through his game unscathed and looks like he will be at least on the bench for the first team in the FA Cup first round tie at Cheltenham on Saturday.
On the hour-mark United got the opening, and the only, goal of the game. McClen did well in the middle of the park as he picked up on a loose ball and played Glenn Murray in on the edge of the Chester box. The Maryport-born striker rolled his marker and fired a shot across City keeper Lane. The youthful ex-Everton keeper could only parry though and it was McGill following up who ran on to tap the ball home into an empty net.
On 63 minutes McClen played a similar long diagonal ball to the right-hand corner that Chris Lumsdon and Karl Hawley had combined with for the first-team goal against Mansfield last month. This time it was youngster Earl who was on the end of it but he was stretching to get there and he could only get a slight touch on it which went straight to Lake.
Two minutes later Chester brought on James Wilson for Dove as they looked for an equaliser but sixty seconds afterwards it was United who almost doubled their lead. McClen floated a corner to the back-post which went over everyone and hit the unsighted Grand on the leg but the ball flew just wide of the post.
Substitutions were the name of the game now as the players began to tire on the heavy pitch. City brought Chris Holroyd on for Marcus Richardson and United replaced Andy Hardman with fellow youth-team striker Rob Bainbridge.
On 71 minutes the visitors wasted an excellent chance to level matters. Robert Marsh-Eavans crossed in deep to the back-post from the left-wing where the onrushing Rutherford could only plant his six-yard header straight into the ground and the arms of the grateful Williams.
A minute later it was United who didn’t make the best of a good aerial opportunity as Gardiner did well to beat two City defenders on the edge of the box. The third-year YTS player checked back and floated a good ball into the area but Bainbridge could only head straight at Lake from the penalty spot.
The visitors used their last substitute with 13 minutes to go as they brought on Adam Wade for the pacey and direct winger Noon.
The Blues missed a good headed chance again on 83 minutes. Earl won the ball well and played it out to McGill on the right, the Dubliner went past his man to the by-line and put a good cross back into the middle of the box. Earl had run on well into the area but he misjudged the bounce of the ball and ended up putting a diving header over the Chester bar when a shot would have been the better choice.
The last period of the match was played out with little real incident as both sides still struggled to put their foot on the ball for any length of time. Curle had the only chance to equalise for City with five minutes left but his curled 20-yarder was easily held by Williams at the far-post.
The match ended with a somewhat bizarre period of injury time. There had been six substitutions and the City physio had been called into action twice in the second half but referee Evans only saw fit to add on one minute of injury time when three or four minutes should have been the call.
The final whistle then came after about 20 seconds of that minute, Evans must have been as keen to get away from a poor game as the rest of the 70 or so crowd was. Still a win is a win and it cements United’s position at the top of the table.
United line-up :
Anthony Williams, Lee Andrews, Simon Grand, David Beherall, Dan Kirkup, Jamie McClen, Dan Dillon (Paul Gardiner 36), Adam Murray (James Earl 58), Glenn Murray, Andy Hardman (Rob Bainbridge 69), Brendan McGill.
Unused subs :
Matty Bell, Mark Graham.
Chester line-up :
Sean Lake, Freddie Potter, Robert-Marsh Evans, Mark Cadawaller, Phil Bolland, Craig Dove (James Wilson 65), Paul Rutherford, Abdou El Kholti, Marcus Richardson (Chris Holroyd 67), Tom Curle, Karl Noon (Adam Wade 77).
Unused subs :
Matthew Humphreys, Ryan Brookfield.
Updated Reserve Team Table : Click here
Updated Reserve Team Results : Click here