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On a bright morning Carlisle, kicking down the slope, had the first chance when a loose ball looped up for Ryan Bowman in front of goal eight yards out, sadly for United though Bowman's header went straight into the arms of Shakers stopper Richie Branagan. The Blues again pressing three minutes later when Davison surprisingly failed to head for goal from a Matt Osmond corner, his knock-down coming to nothing.
Osmond was putting some great delivery in all game and moments later another flag-kick saw Ben Richards-Everton's six-yard header at the back-post hacked away after a bout of pinball. Bury having their first goal attempt in the 11th minute when the pacey Lee Pugh got past Carlisle right-back James Wood only to slice his left-footed shot from 15 yards out wide of Mark Gillespie's near-post.
Paddy O'Brien then gave the ball away for United but Pugh's strike from distance was weak and easy for Gillespie to save. A quiet spell in the game then followed before Osmond's 27th minute corner caused havoc. Richards-Everton with a header and then Bowman with an overhead kick both getting goal attempts in before in a ruck of bodies at the back-stick Mark Sloan toe-poked an effort onto the Shakers near-post from close range.
It was Osmond again with a corner on the half-hour mark but Davison, with the ball coming slightly behind him, could only head over the near angle of the goal from eight yards out. Bury then went very close three minutes later when their skipper Krishnan Patel sent Danny Hudson away down the left-hand channel, Hudson desperately unlucky to see his 25-yard half-volley with the outside of his right boot spin away for a throw-in off the face of the Carlisle crossbar.
After 36 minutes the pair linked up well with a quick one-two but this time the result was a soft Patel daisycutter from 25 yards out straight at Gillespie. Sixty seconds later United won a free-kick, for a foul on Kieran Cahill by Andre Jones which produced nothing, but during the break in play Sean Law had to limp off for the Blues with a knee injury, his place in midfield being taken by Phil Towler.
Bury broke into the left of the Carlisle box on 39 minutes, Pugh's low cross being parried out in front of goal, fortunately though Steven Swinglehurst was there first to boot the ball clear. The Cumbrians then putting a good move together themselves sixty seconds later only for Wood to see his 20-yard shot well blocked by Shakers left-back Ryan Barrow.
Bowman looked to have raced clear in the 41st minute as he bore down on goal through the middle, Jones doing remarkably well though to make a last-ditch tackle on the United striker on the edge of the box. The last chance of the half coming the way of the visitors moments later when Hudson was only able to slice a 12-yard right-footed half-volley well wide of Gillespie's far-post.
Four minutes after the interval came the first item of note when Barrow picked up a loose ball for Bury and hit in a 22-yard right-footer straight at Gillespie. Shortly afterwards and it was the Cumbrians breaking forward but Towler's right-footed shot from just outside the penalty area was well blocked by Kyle McGonigle for the Shakers.
In the 52nd minute though the Blues did grab what would turn out to be the only goal of the game, Osmond's corner in seeing Richards-Everton head across the target, Branagan flap in the air again and the ball fall to the feet of Davison eight yards out who was able to easily lash it right-footed into the roof of the net.
The Shakers did look to immediately equalise but just seconds later Hudson, near the penalty spot, headed over the top from Billy Crawshaw's ball in. Bury were looking to up the pace now and bang on the hour-mark right-back Zach Rothwell failed to take a good opportunity when he wastefully crossed wide following a neat one-two with Max Harrop.
Harrop then looking to do things his own way in the 63rd minute only to shoot wide of the target with a left-footed 25-yarder. Both sides making a change in personnel three minutes later when Liam Boswell replaced Hudson for the Shakers and James Reid came on for O'Brien for the Blues, Reid going upfront alongside Bowman as Sloan dropped back into O'Brien's midfield spot.
With 20 minutes to go Boswell, from a Pugh left-wing cross, was only able to send a diving header straight into the arms of Gillespie from eight yards out, then seven minutes later the visitors were forced into a substitution. James Tannahill after taking a knock to the ankle in an earlier challenge with Reid, hobbling off the field to be replaced by Luke McCarthy.
Shortly afterwards, as it was all Bury in the closing stages, Pugh's corner saw McCarthy juggle the ball up before slicing a 15-yard volley across goal, possession then breaking away for Harrop who half-volleyed wide of the near-post from eight yards out. Pugh then only picking out Gillespie with a left-footed shot from just outside the Carlisle box in the 85th minute, the two chances sandwiched either side of the last Shakers substitution, Jordan Melia for Crawshaw.
Harrop then put a good cross in from the left sixty seconds later which Boswell, ten yards out, flick-headed into the arms of Gillespie on the bounce, Boswell then doing almost exactly the same thing at the back-stick in the 87th minute, this time from Pugh's ball in. The latter stages seeing the visitors really pummel the United back-line only to somehow not be able to find a way through.
Bowman then sliced a long distance right-footer well wide for the Blues a minute into injury time before Bury's big chance to find a late leveller came and went sixty seconds later. Harrop's ball across seeing the ever dangerous Pugh run onto it 15 yards out, his right-footed effort from there on his instep looking in all the way only for it to surprisingly zoom inches over the crossbar off the outstretched leg of Swinglehurst with Gillespie well beaten.
And so that turned out to be it as a rather long four minutes of injury time ended with the Cumbrians running the clock down deep in the Bury half with a corner and a couple of throw-ins. Carlisle really struggling for the victory in the end against a Shakers outfit who look a lot better than their league position suggests, next week United at home again as they face another side low down in the table in Blackpool.
United line-up :
Mark Gillespie, James Wood, Kieran Cahill, Steven Swinglehurst, Ben Richards-Everton, Sean Law (Phil Towler 37), Liam Davison, Paddy O'Brien (James Reid 66), Ryan Bowman, Mark Sloan, Matt Osmond.
Unused substitutes :
Jon Ball (GK), James Bonner and Jamie Cleary.
Bury line-up :
Richie Branagan, Zach Rothwell, Ryan Barrow, Andre Jones, Kyle McGonigle, Krishnan Patel, Max Harrop, James Tannahill (Luke McCarthy 77), Danny Hudson (Liam Boswell 66), Billy Crawshaw (Jordan Melia 80), Lee Pugh.
Unused substitutes :
Danny Fradd (GK) and Nathan Tosum.
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