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The Blues did carve out the first opportunity after just sixty seconds though when Neale McDermott and Luke Joyce sent the ball into the Bury penalty area from a short corner, Derek Holmes getting a block challenge in from a goalmouth scramble as the ball flew into the arms of the Shakers keeper. After five minutes Tom Youngs played in Dale Stephens for the visitors, Stephens sending a 22-yard effort over the top of Williams' crossbar.
Sixty seconds later Stephens thumped in a 20-yard left-footed half-volley, following a throw-in by Lee Peatfield, which Williams was able to gather at the second attempt. With eight minutes gone the busy Williams palmed away a Youngs cross straight to Nicky Adams at the back-post, Adams blazing a half-volley well over from just 12 yards out. Shortly afterwards the impressive David Worrall, playing on the left-wing, sent a right-footed 22-yard drive straight into the arms of Williams.
Sixty seconds later Stephen Hindmarch limped off the pitch with an ankle/foot injury picked up in an earlier tackle and was replaced in the United forward line by Gary Madine. In the 12th minute Adams sent a great cross in from the right over the top of Arnison, Worrall somehow heading an excellent chance at the far-post over the bar from close range. Five minutes on and Carlisle centre-half Terry Stewart headed wide at the back-stick from a McDermott corner, then three minutes later James Earl saw his 15-yard half-volley blocked after some good Blues set-up work by Joyce and Pete Ferris.
The Shakers made their early pressure tell when they took the lead in the 22nd minute, Youngs heading back across Williams and into the Cumbrians net after Adams had chipped in a clever cross to the back-post. Just a minute later and Bury almost went 2-0 up when an Adams ball in broke to Damian Quigley, the diminutive midfielder hooking a great chance over the bar from only six yards out. After 25 minutes Adams made a good run from inside his own half but he was a little bit selfish in the end as he shot straight at Williams from distance with other Shakers well placed.
Just before the half-hour mark Krause played Matt Blinkhorn onside as the Bury forward ran on to a Worrall ball down the left-hand channel, Blinkhorn moving in on the United goal only to send a weak side-footed finish into the arms of Williams from 12 yards out. The Carlisle goal was under threat again with 34 minutes gone when Krause fouled Adams, the free-kick taken by Adams seeing Blinkhorn cleverly back-heeling the ball into the path of the onrushing Worrall. The Shakers winger hit in an excellent strike across Williams from just inside the Blues penalty area only to see the ball ping back out off the inside of the post, centre-half Dominic Taylor unable to convert the rebound as he side-footed the ball miles over from close range.
The visitors were again making the most of the conditions in their favour after 38 minutes as United found themselves battling against the wind and playing the majority of the game in their own half. Worrall sending a cross in from the left which Taylor chested down nicely for Blinkhorn, the unmarked Blackpool-loanee couldn't make the most of a good opportunity though as he could only send his left-footed half-volley from the penalty spot way over the top and into the deserted Waterworks end.
The last chance for the Cumbrians to grab an equaliser before the break came in the 44th minute when Joyce headed away an Adams corner in, Ferris quickly picking up on the loose ball and hitting a deep pass over the top down the right-hand channel for Madine to chase down. The Gateshead-based youngster then being unlucky to see his well-hit 22 yard right-footed effort fly across Mike Smith in the Bury goal only to hit the foot of the far-post and thud back into the arms of the Shakers keeper.
Blues second-string boss Greg Abbott made one change during the break, more than likely with the first-team game at Swansea on Saturday in mind, as he brought on Dan Wordsworth for Raven at centre-half. Only about 90 seconds in and Carlisle hauled themselves level in the match, the Cumbrians winning a corner after a Joyce ball over the top had sent Madine clear and running in on goal, the striker took his time but hit his ten-yard half-volley straight at a back-pedalling Smith when anywhere else would have seen the net bulge. Little did it matter though as Ferris and McDermott took the flag-kick quickly, with Ferris crossing into the back-post for Earl to head home and restore parity in the match from close range.
Worrall tried to help restore the Shakers lead two minutes later when he played a ball across the face of the Carlisle box for Youngs, the visitors frontman driving his right-footed shot straight into the grateful arms of Williams. On 57 minutes Adams shot well over from 20 yards out, then just after the hour mark United made their second substitution as Matthew Brown came on for Krause, the Ipswich man trying to disappear quickly off down the tunnel before being shouted at from the directors box and told to go for a warm-down by Cumbrians first-team manager Neil McDonald.
On 63 minutes the visitors made their first change when Blinkhorn was replaced, I think by Luke Holmes in the number twelve shirt, although helpfully enough on the teamsheet Stephens was down as the number eight and the number twelve. Sixty seconds later Williams held onto a 20-yard shot by Worrall after Joyce had only cleared the ball out to the feet of the Bury man. It was Carlisle's turn to go on the attack after 66 minutes though when a Ferris cross in from the left saw McDermott head the ball down for Madine 12 yards out, the youngster side-footing his volley inches wide of the Shakers far-post.
Worrall was once more showing his pace shortly afterwards when he cut in from the left and forced Williams into a sharp save at his near-post with a 20-yard effort. Arnison tried his luck from long range in the 68th minute only for the shot to fly across goal and out at the back-stick, then moments later a handball by Stephens just to the left of his own 'D' saw McDermott sidefoot a quickly taken free-kick inches wide of the Shakers back-stick with Smith seemingly well beaten. As United had a good spell in the game a Ferris cross in from the right was headed away straight to Earl 20 yards out, the United man only able to find the gloves of Smith though with a low right-footed drive.
With 15 minutes to go Ferris was once more in the thick of the action as he cut in from the left and played a ball across to McDermott in the middle, the ex-Fulham midfielder hammering in a piledriver of an effort from fully 30 yards out only to see the ball fly up off the face of the Bury crossbar, Peatfield putting the rebound out for a corner. Two minutes later a Brown throw-in was pushed across by Joyce to Earl 15 yards out in the right-hand channel, Smith needing two goes to clutch on to Earl's right-footed shot.
Two minutes later and Worrall and Adams linked up well again, Adams's shot from just to the right of the United 'D' zooming straight into the gloves of Williams. Sixty seconds later and the visitors took the lead once more when a cross to the back-stick by Holmes saw Williams rooted to his line and Worrall running in to slam a left-footed half-volley high into the roof of the Carlisle net from six yards out. After 82 minutes Stephens fired in a shot from distance, following some more good set-up play by Worrall, but this time Williams was able to make a comfortable save for the Cumbrians.
With seven minutes to go, as the Shakers really started to get on top in the match, Youngs sliced a left-footed shot high and wide from 22 yards out. Straight from there though and the long Williams goal-kick bounced away on the wind and into the run of Ferris down the left-hand channel, Ferris bounding on with the ball bouncing in front of him and eventually sending a left-footed half-volley wide of the near-post from just inside the Bury penalty area.
Shortly afterwards and Ferris had an even better chance to bring United back level when a Brown throw-in on the half-way line was flicked on by Holmes and then Madine to send Ferris racing in on goal and in the clear down the left-hand channel. Ferris tried to open up his body up "a la Thierry Henry" 12 yards out but the finish didn't match the usual one of the French maestro as he could only push his side-footed effort well wide of Smith's far-post. The Shakers quickly came back into it though and Williams was once more forced into a save from the ever-dangerous Worrall who thumped in a goalbound shot from the edge of the Carlisle box.
In the 86th minute, as the Blues pressed again for a second equaliser in the match, McDermott put a cross in from the right which Madine headed narrowly wide of the Bury far-post from 12 yards out. The leveller nearly did come sixty seconds later though when a long ball up by McDermott was flicked on by Holmes into the middle of the Shakers box, Joyce was breaking in there at pace but in a 50-50 challenge with Smith racing off his line, the United man was only able to lift his effort over the top of the Bury crossbar.
The game was up for the Blues though in the 89th minute when the visitors' Holmes showed some good skill in the Carlisle box to make room for himself and fire a fierce drive past Williams and into the back of the United net from 15 yards out in the right-hand channel. The last chance of another goal in the game came the way of the visitors sixty seconds into the two minutes of time added on when Stewart brought down Adams ten yards outside the middle of the United 'D', Stephens stepping up to hammer a powerful right-footed drive inches over the top. The final whistle soon coming on a poor display by the Cumbrians second-string who, a few Carlisle players apart - notably Gary Madine and Neale McDermott, had seemed to be less up for the game than their Lancashire counterparts from the opening kick-off.
United line-up :
Anthony Williams, Paul Arnison, James Krause (Matthew Brown 61), Neale McDermott, Terry Stewart, David Raven (Dan Wordsworth 46), James Earl, Luke Joyce, Stephen Hindmarch (Gary Madine 11), Derek Holmes, Pete Ferris.
Unused substitutes :
Adam Bradley (GK) and Matthew Wood.
Bury line-up :
Mike Smith, Ricky Anane, Lee Peatfield, Damian Quigley, Dominic Taylor, Andy Parrish, Nicky Adams, Dale Stephens, Matt Blinkhorn (Luke Holmes 63), Tom Youngs, David Worrall.
Unused substitutes :
Ryan Hall, Domain Rouse and Nicky Potter.
Referee - Mr A Haines.
Attendance - 25.
Results in the division this afternoon :
Oldham 2-2 Tranmere (played on Monday)
Accrington Stanley 0-1 Blackpool
Carlisle 1-3 Bury
Manchester City 1-1 Rochdale
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