With five minutes on the clock, Marshall, playing on his own upfront due to a lack of fit or available strikers, stuck a cross in from the right which ended in finding its way to Conor Tinnion at the back-post, Tinnion though striking his left-footed half-volley straight at Stanley goalkeeper Josh Molloy from close range. Marc Bridge-Wilkinson then the victim of the offside flag four minutes later when, almost on the goalline, he tapped home from a low Marshall ball in.
After 12 minutes Carlisle's early pressure told when they took the lead, Tinnion's left-footed corner in coming through a ruck of bodies before dropping nicely to Tom Aldred 12 yards out for a low volley on his right boot into the visitors net. Shortly afterwards Tinnion then missing another good chance from a Marshall cross as he smacked a left-footed half-volley over the top from the middle of the Stanley penalty area.
Marshall then unlucky not to score himself in the 14th minute when he cut in from the right and curled in a left-footed shot from 15 yards out that flew across goal but pinged back off the base of the far-post. In a busy spell in the game Accrington grabbed an equaliser sixty seconds later when Blues centre-half Steven Swinglehurst underhit a back pass and then Mark Gillespie made a bit of a hash of the clearance.
There was still plenty of work to do for Daniel Haworth though as the ball dropped to him 40 yards from goal, but he picked his spot perfectly to curl a lovely right-footed shot over the top of a retreating Gillespie and into the far top corner of the Carlisle net. Stanley then almost taking the lead after 16 minutes when a mishit cross in from the left by Johnny Evans glanced away to safety off the face of the United crossbar.
Four minutes later and Aldred hit a ball over the top which produced a poor back header from Accrington skipper Zak Riley, Molloy though just able to block Marshall's attempted lob from the edge of the box as the United man just got to the loose ball first. After 22 minutes it was 2-0 to Carlisle and this time Molloy had lead in his boots when, from a Tinnion corner, Kane headed over the top of him and into the roof of the net from eight yards out at the back-stick.
Molloy then produced a weak clearance two minutes later which went straight to Gavin Rothery, the Blues midfielder though only hitting his own weak right-footed effort straight back at Molloy from the middle of the visitors 'D'. With 27 minutes gone though it was 3-0 when Bridge-Wilkinson played a nice pass through a static back-line for Marshall to run onto, the Stoke-loanee then making no mistake as he pushed a shot across Molloy and into the corner of the net from 12 yards out.
Ten minutes before the break and Horwood stuck a cross in from the left but Tinnion, in the middle of the box, could only drag a left-footed shot wide of the near-post. Accrington then went close after 37 minutes when Billy Kee found the ball bouncing nicely for him in a tackle with Swinglehurst, Kee though knocking his attempted 25-yard lob over Gillespie but wide of the target.
United had been well on top throughout the first half against what was pretty much a Stanley youth team and the Blues had the last chance of the opening period in the 42nd minute. Marshall cutting in from the left before trying an attempted curler across goal on his right foot from 12 yards out, the shot though going high and wide and into an empty Waterworks End.
During the interval Carlisle made two planned changes and one unplanned when James Wood and Manny Richardson came on for Taiwo and Horwood, Aldred as well though being replaced by Simon Lakeland after taking a whack to the head in the first-half. The second period then seeing United's dominance continue when in the 47th minute Rothery hit in a right-footed 20-yard effort that drifted straight into the arms of Molloy.
The Cumbrians then put a nice move together sixty seconds later when Wood pushed a ball forward, Jonny Blake flicked it on and Bridge-Wilkinson pounced to thump in a 12-yard right-footed half-volley that bounced away to safety off the middle of the Stanley crossbar. In the 50th minute the scoreline became 4-0 when Bridge-Wilkinson chipped a ball over the top and Marshall side-footed home easily through the legs of Molloy from just inside the penalty area.
Shortly afterwards and the visitors tried to respond but Kee's 22-yard drive was easily held by Gillespie. Accrington then making a double substitution in the 54th minute when Jordan Rimmer and Marcus Carver came on for Harun Bhatti and Molloy respectively. Molloy, having broken his hand in the first-half in a challenge with Blake, leaving the field with midfielder Adam Black going in the Stanley goal for the remaining 36 minutes of the game.
Accrington tried to up the pace with a Luke McVarish long range shot straight at Gillespie just before the hour mark, but then the next action of note came in the 63rd minute. Stanley making another substitution as Joe Wilkinson came on for Evans, and Carlisle not making one at all as Marshall left the field to be rested in mind for Saturday and the first team, that leaving the Blues with ten men for the rest of the game.
Kee was trying to pull a goal back for Stanley two minutes later but he pulled his right-footed shot across the target from 15 yards out. After 70 minutes Bridge-Wilkinson and Tinnion combined nicely down the right, with Tinnion eventually cutting the ball back from the by-line for Bridge-Wilkinson to slide a 15-yard drive across goal but wide of the far-post. Eight minutes later Kee doing almost exactly the same thing up at the other end of the pitch.
Accrington then trying again to make the scoreline a little bit more respectable after 80 minutes when Carver's corner in saw Gillespie bumped off catching the ball by Tom Murphy. Gillespie though able to make an easy claim from Michael Hall's resultant looping eight-yard header at the back-stick.
Straight from the goal-kick the Blues making it 6-1 when Gillespie's long ball over the top found Tinnion racing clear to lift a left-footed lob over the top of an advancing Black from the edge of the penalty area. Tinnion though unable to repeat the feat in the 84th minute when, from a lovely Richardson pass through the middle, his 12-yard shot flicked off the legs of Black and was run away off the goalline by Jonny Flynn.
The last chance on goal in the game coming the way of Stanley three minutes from time when Carver's long range shot pinged off Kane and made life easy for Gillespie in the Carlisle goal. The final scoreline being no more than United deserved against what was essentially Accrington youth's team, although it also shows that games like this serve little purpose to anybody bar fitness issues.
United line-up :
Mark Gillespie, Tony Kane, Evan Horwood (Simon Lakeland 46), Steven Swinglehurst, Tom Aldred (James Wood 46), Marc Bridge-Wilkinson (c), Jonny Blake, Tom Taiwo (Manny Richardson 46), Gavin Rothery, Ben Marshall (footnote 1), Conor Tinnion.
Unused substitutes :
Jon Ball (GK) and Liam Davison.
Accrington Stanley line-up :
Josh Molloy (Marcus Carver 54), Luke McVarish, Tom Murphy, Harun Bhatti (Jordan Rimmer 54), Zak Riley (c), Johnny Flynn, Adam Black (footnote 2), Daniel Haworth, Billy Kee, Michael Hall, Jonathan Evans (Joe Wilkinson 61).
Unused substitutes :
None.
Footnote 1 - With all three Carlisle substitutes used, Marshall left the field and wasn't replaced after 63 minutes.
Footnote 2 - With goalkeeper Josh Molloy having suffered a broken hand, and with no substitute goalkeeper on the bench, Adam Black went in goal for the remaining 36 minutes of the game.
Referee - Paul Davison (Stockton-on-Tees).
Attendance - 30.
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