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It was the Blues who started the stronger too when a cross in from the right by Neale McDermott on three minutes saw Luke Joyce head wide of the near-post from 12 yards out as he raced into the 'Pool penalty area. Eleven minutes later Scott Metcalfe struck a shot in for the visitors from 25 yards out with the outside of his right foot, the effort going straight into the arms of United keeper Chris Howarth on the bounce.
With 18 minutes gone Carlisle skipper Kevin Gray fouled Matty Ogden 30 yards from goal just to the right of the United 'D'. Ogden himself seeing his well-struck drive from the free-kick ping off the Blues defensive wall and fly inches past Howarth's near-post. Sixty seconds later the action was up the other end when 20-year old Phil Doughty did well to hold off Joyce as the Carlisle man tried to get onto the end of a McDermott slide-rule pass into the 'Pool box.
Stephen Hindmarch made a good run forward on 22 minutes and played a neat diagonal pass into the path of Derek Holmes down the left-hand channel. Holmes driving a shot across goal from 15 yards out which Bartlett did well to push onto the inside of the back-stick. The ball pinged back to Holmes but by now he was on the floor after loosing his footing, his attempted effort on goal from his prone position slicing away wide of the visitors near-post.
Two minutes later it was Hindmarch himself who missed a good chance when a heavy first touch, from a Gary Madine pass over the top, saw Bartlett able to race off his line and dive onto the loose ball. With 26 minutes on the clock, and United firmly on top in terms of possession, Madine tried to do the job himself but his shot from fully 30 yards out in the left-hand channel flew across goal and way over the top of post and bar.
Bang on the half-hour mark Shaun Vipond, Hindmarch and Madine combined well to set up Joyce on the edge of the Blackpool area, Joyce seeing his right-footed shot deflected over the crossbar for a corner. The flag-kick in eventually coming to nothing after Holmes had got a poor headed connection on a cross in by Paul Arnison. Two minutes later McDermott tried his luck from 18 yards out but his shot was pulled across goal and only went wide of the target.
Matt Ray looked to get the visitors going on 35 minutes but his shot from distance disappeared away past Howarth's near-post. Two minutes later a foul by the backtracking Danny Penswick on Madine saw the Blues win a free-kick 30 yards out in the left-hand channel. McDermott swung the ball in and Madine was extremely unlucky to see his close-range volley fly straight at Bartlett when anywhere else would surely have seen the opening goal of the game come.
It was all Carlisle now as they struggled to make the breakthrough and in the 39th minute Hindmarch saw an 18-yarder blocked after a nice touch into him by Madine, Vipond then dragging the loose ball well wide of Bartlett's near-post. The last action of the opening period saw Vipond once more looking to open the scoring as he broke into the right-hand side of the 'Pool box, his right-footed shot flying across goal and past the back-stick.
Perhaps with Saturday's first-team game at Scunthorpe in mind Joyce was replaced by first-year YTS player Matthew Wood during the break, the change seeing McDermott move into a more central role with Wood going out onto the right of the middle three. In the 48th minute a Hindmarch cross in from the left saw both Holmes and Madine get flicked headers on the centre before Bartlett plucked the ball out of the air at his back-post.
Sixty seconds later Dan Kirkup brought down Danny Mitcheley near the by-line on the left-edge of the Carlisle box. Ross Lloyd touched the set-piece off to Metcalfe but Arnison was quickly out of the traps to get a good block in. The visitors were having one of their better spells in the game now and after 51 minutes Lloyd pushed forward and fired in a 22-yard shot, which you could loosely term as going goalwards, as it sliced away into the Waterworks end.
On 56 minutes a McDermott corner in was only part-cleared out to James Krause, the cross back in from the Cumbrians left-back seeing Gray send a looping header up and down and into the gloves of Bartlett. Shortly afterwards the Carlisle defence were once more restricting the visitors to pot-shots only as Metcalfe thumped a 22-yarder in which Howarth was able to watch zoom away past his far-post.
After being on top for large periods of the match the Blues were finally able to open their account after 58 minutes with a thunderous strike from Holmes, the big Scot perhaps surprising everyone as he hammered a 22-yard left-footed half-volley right into the top corner of Bartlett's net. Madine tried a similar effort in an attempt to make it 2-0 on 65 minutes, this time though Madine's right-footed shot was sliced well over the angle of far-post and bar.
That break in play, as Bartlett lined up his goal-kick, seeing 'Pool second-string boss Steve Thompson make a double substitution as he brought on Dom Morella for Mitcheley and Alex Smith for Ogden. Midway through the half the visitors broke out quickly after Hindmarch had lost possession from a McDermott corner. Smith working the ball well into Metcalfe only for the Seasider to fire his 15-yard cross-shot from the right inches wide of the United far-post.
With just less than 20 minutes to go the Blues made their second change in the game when Matthew Blake came on for Hindmarch, Blake slotting into the left-back role with Krause now pushing further up down that flank. In the 72nd minute Lloyd's 20-yarder was caught by Howarth at the second attempt, then three minutes later Gray's poor touch, on a Howarth pass out to him, saw Blake do well to get back and make a last-ditch tackle after Metcalfe had picked up the loose ball.
After 77 minutes McDermott's ball across to Holmes from the right saw the Carlisle striker curl a lovely left-footed shot from 20 yards out which Bartlett did very well to tip around his far-post. Kirkup's ten-yard header from the resultant McDermott corner in dropping wide of the target. Six minutes later a clever chipped cross into the back-post from Wood saw Krause ghosting in only for the Ipswich-loanee to head over the top from eight yards out.
The Seasiders made their third and final change in the game with 84 minutes on the clock when McCarthy was replaced by Dale Warburton at left-back. It was a hard school for Warburton though as just sixty seconds later he was looking on as the Blues went 2-0 up. Madine's ball through for Holmes in the box seeing 'Pool centre-half Matt Lawlor making a real hash of an attempted clearance, Holmes' block tackle seeing the United man able to side-foot the ball home easily past Bartlett from ten yards out.
That two goal lead was extremely short-lived for the Cumbrians though as the visitors pulled a goal back only two minutes later. Ray getting a shot in from 18 yards out which pinged away off the legs of Kirkup for a corner. Substitute Morella was now on flag-kick duty and his ball into the box saw Lloyd somehow standing completely unmarked six yards out, Lloyd left with the simple task of nodding the cross into the back of the Carlisle net.
Three minutes of injury time were signalled on the electronic board and after being 2-0 down with just five minutes to go the 'Pool almost equalised in the first of those three minutes, only for Lloyd to waste a glorious opportunity. The youngster racing onto a ball over the top from Overson, but just when some composure was needed Lloyd could only hit his lobbed effort from the edge of the box, as Howarth found himself stranded in no-mans land, well over the top of the Cumbrians crossbar.
United finally made all three points safe in the second minute of stoppage time when Holmes completed his hat-trick. McDermott's cross in from the left finding the Lanark-born frontman unmarked, as the visitors pushed up looking for a late equaliser. Holmes then able to coolly send his ten-yard downward header into the far bottom corner of the net to extinguish any chance of the Seasiders grabbing a point from the game.
The Lancastrians hadn't given up hope though and the last chance in the match came their way just as the clock ticked over three minutes, Ray's right-footed shot from 20 yards out flying wide of the United near-post. So, two wins in Carlisle's last two reserve team games, coupled with two defeats for Chester, means the Blues have finished second-bottom in the table and have avoided the ignominy of going from table-toppers to wooden-spoon holders in just twelve months.
United line-up :
Chris Howarth, Paul Arnison, James Krause, Dan Kirkup, Kevin Gray, Luke Joyce (Matthew Wood 46), Shaun Vipond, Neale McDermott, Derek Holmes, Gary Madine, Stephen Hindmarch (Matthew Blake 71).
Unused substitutes :
Adam Bradley (GK), Matthew Brown and Terry Stewart.
Blackpool line-up :
Adam Bartlett, Jack Overson, Tom McCarthy (Dale Warburton 84), Phil Doughty, Matt Lawlor, Matt Ray, Scott Metcalfe, Danny Mitcheley (Dom Morrella 65), Matty Ogden (Alex Smith 65), Danny Penswick, Ross Lloyd.
Unused substitutes :
Kyle Clancy (GK) and Scott Rolston.
Referee - Mike Oliver (Ashington).
Attendance - 40.
Results in the division today :
Carlisle 3-1 Blackpool
Manchester City 3-0 Chester
Rochdale 1-3 Preston
Tranmere 0-4 Bury
Updated Reserve Team Table : Click here
United's Reserve Team Results : Click here