Simon Hackney - Danny Carlton - Jamie Mullan
Neale McDermott
Luke Joyce - Chris Lumsdon
Darren Campion - Peter Murphy - Dan Wordsworth - Shaun Vipond
Adam Bradley
The Blues started brightly too as they quickly looked to put a youthful Tranmere side on the back-foot. After five minutes Chris Lumsdon ran in on a Neale McDermott crossed ball in from the right only to send his ten-yard header over the top of the Tranmere crossbar as Rovers keeper Shane McWeeney stood rooted to his line.
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Two minutes later a handball by Tranmere's Mike Blundell on the left-wing saw McDermott swing a 40-yard free-kick in to the Rovers area, Murphy rising at the back-post only to head straight at McWeeney from six yards out. With 21 minutes on the clock Rovers centre-half Joel Richardson limped from the field after receiving treatment on a leg injury and was replaced by Luke Denson.
Shortly afterwards it was again United on the attack when Mullan set Danny Carlton free on the right. Carlton's low ball in across the six-yard box somehow evading the boots of both Simon Hackney and Lumsdon as it flew away from danger. After 26 minutes some good closing down and a tackle by Hackney saw Carlton clear on goal with the ball at his feet 15 yards out, his right-footed shot was disappointing though as it pulled wide of the outside of the near-post.
Sixty seconds later the Blues were asking for a penalty against Tranmere at the Waterworks End again. Carlton getting to a Luke Joyce through ball first in the Rovers box with McWeeney then seemingly catching the ex-Morecambe man as he crashed to the ground. No spot-kick was forthcoming but referee Lee Metcalfe didn't admonish Carlton for diving either so who knows how he had seen it.
Just before the half-hour mark a ball over the top by Murphy saw McWeeney race from his line to head away outside his box as Hackney looked to profit. The ball went straight to McDermott though 45 yards out but sadly for United his right-footed lob on goal went just wide of the right-hand post as Tranmere defenders raced back to cover.
The first real shot on goal for the visitors came in the 32nd minute when Terry Gornell laid a touch off to Blundell 25 yards out, Carlisle keeper Adam Bradley was able to stand and watch though as Blundell's right-footed half-volley went way off-target into the empty Warwick Road End. A quiet spell then followed in the game with both sides conceding possession on a regular basis.
That quite spell in the match being broken two minutes into first-half injury-time when Hackney raced through the middle only to be pulled back by Ashley Taylor. Referee Metcalfe waved play on though as the ball broke to Carlton but the United striker was inches off target with a 25-yard right-footed curler that whistled inches wide of McWeeney's far-post.
Three minutes after the break and a cleared Hackney corner came out to McDermott on the left-wing, McDermott's cross back in flying past everyone on the bounce as it zipped just wide of the target. On 52 minutes United doubled their lead when a long ball down the left-hand channel by Lumsdon saw Carlton run in on goal beyond a poor offside trap and smash a right-footed half-volley into the Tranmere net from 15 yards out.
With 55 minutes gone Lumsdon's close-range header from a Hackney cross was deflected behind, Dan Wordsworth heading the resultant McDermott corner over the top from eight yards out. Carlisle reserve team boss Eric Kinder made a double change during the break in play with Matthew Brown coming on for Murphy and Tom Aldred replacing Lumsdon. That change in personnel now seeing the Blues line-up as follows :
Simon Hackney - Danny Carlton - Jamie Mullan
Shaun Vipond
Luke Joyce - Neale McDermott
Darren Campion - Tom Aldred - Dan Wordsworth - Matthew Brown
Adam Bradley
Shortly afterwards the visitors had a rare venture forward when a cross from Blundell saw Aaron Cresswell head wide of the United near-post from 12 yards out. Rovers were picking up the pace a bit now and in the 58th minute Wordsworth, in a man-of-the-match performance, made a tremendous block to deflect a 20-yard Cresswell left-footed half-volley over the top.
Just after the hour-mark a rush of blood to the head saw Cresswell fire well over Bradley's crossbar with his left foot from fully 30 yards out. Midway through the second period Gornell, who had only just been spoken to by the referee, became the only player in the game to see a yellow card for hacking down Wordsworth just outside the Carlisle penalty area.
After 69 minutes Carlton fed the ball into the run of Mullan down the right, Mullan beating his man well before hitting a low left-footed cross into the box which Hackney was just unable to convert as he challenged for the ball with two Tranmere defenders. Just sixty seconds later and United did make it 3-0 as McDermott netted his second goal on the day.
The move started when Hackney, tricky as always on the left, fired in a low centre across the Rovers six-yard line. Under pressure from Carlton Tranmere's Carl Tremarco then made a hash of his attempted clearance with the ball pinging straight to McDermott ten yards out. McDermott then left with the relatively simple task of half-volleying home at pace with his right foot. Stephen Hindmarch coming on upfront for Carlton for the Blues as the visitors waited to take the kick-off.
On 74 minutes Hackney's left-footed shot was pulled wide of the near-post from 18 yards out in the left-hand channel. Rovers second-string boss Shaun Garnett using the stoppage in play to replace Tom Beahon in midfield with John Macauley. Four minutes later Tranmere right-back Danny Holmes tried the most speculative shot of the day when his attempted 50-yard lob was easily caught by Bradley.
Shortly afterwards a cross by Cresswell from the right reached Tremarco at the back-stick, Tremarco heading the ball down and off the inside of the Carlisle far-post from six yards out. After a bit of pinball with both sides battling for possession the ball came back to Tremarco but this time Bradley did well to block his close-range shot over the top.
With five minutes to go a Hackney corner was headed on by Hindmarch at the near-post, Aldred rising at the back-stick only to head over McWeeney's crossbar from six yards out. In the 89th minute Cresswell was once more looking to get on the Rovers scoresheet but his left-footed shot from 25 yards out flew across Bradley's goal as it went wide of the far-post.
As the clock ticked into a second minute of injury time the visitors were unlucky not to grab a late consolation goal. A fierce 22-yard right-footed drive by Mike Jones almost breaking the Carlisle crossbar as Bradley could only stand and watch. The ball eventually came back to Paul Henry but his shot was weak from 20 yards out and Bradley fell on it with ease. The final whistle coming literally seconds later to signal United's first win of their second-string season.
United line-up :
Adam Bradley, Shaun Vipond (c), Darren Campion, Peter Murphy (Matthew Brown 55), Dan Wordsworth, Chris Lumsdon (Tom Aldred 55), Jamie Mullan, Neale McDermott, Luke Joyce, Danny Carlton (Stephen Hindmarch 70), Simon Hackney.
Unused substitutes :
Chris Howarth (GK) and Jonny Blake.
Tranmere line-up :
Shane McWeeney, Danny Holmes, Carl Tremarco, Joel Richardson (Luke Denson 21), Ashley Taylor, Paul Henry (c), Mike Blundell, Tom Beahon (John Macauley 74), Mike Jones, Terry Gornell, Aaron Cresswell.
Unused substitutes :
Peter Kennedy (GK), Ryan Fraughan and Louis Corrigan.
Referee - Lee Metcalfe (Preston)
Attendance - 80
Fixtures in the division this week :
Wrexham 1-3 Burnley (Mon)
Carlisle 3-0 Tranmere (Tue)
Accrington Stanley 2-1 Rochdale (Wed)
Blackpool 0-2 Manchester City (Wed)
Bury 0-0 Morecambe (Wed)
Chester 2-1 Preston (Wed)
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