United Youth 1-1 Bury Youth

James Earl lines up a United free-kick

Two minutes later Earl tried another curled effort, this time from open play, but it was straight down the throat of the visitors keeper. It look a long time for the next incident of any note to happen as possession was contested for keenly in the middle of the pitch with neither side finding any room to get the ball down and play.

In the 17^th minute Shaun Vipond brought down the Bury number seven out on the right-wing, 35 yards from the Carlisle goal. The ball was swung in well by the left-winger and the number six was able to get a header in from just four yards out, only for Bradley to make a fantastic reaction save as he managed to palm the ball up in the air. United's young keeper was able to get a good punch on it from there and Earl completed the clearance by hacking the ball away from danger.

After 26 minutes the Bury number seven played in the number eight 30 yards out. Flicking the ball over Earl with his right foot he then tried a speculative left-foot half-volley which Bradley did well to push around the post as the ball took a nasty bounce up in front of him. Three minutes later a Kirkup header out from a long Shakers goal-kick found the number seven who tried a similar effort from slightly closer in, only to send it sailing away over the Carlisle crossbar.

Sixty seconds later, as Bury got onto the front foot in the game, a cross from the right was headed up in the air by Blues right-back Ashley Combe. The ball came straight to the impressive number seven 15 yards out on the volley and his effort was fantastically saved by a diving Bradley who leapt airbound across his goal.

United were showing little going forward although one chance came in the 35^th minute following a poor goal-kick from the visitors keeper. The ball going straight to Carlisle frontman Stephen Hindmarch who tried a curler with his right-foot from 25 yards out in the left-hand channel but it went well wide of the Bury far-post.

The visitors finally made their pressure tell though in the 41^st minute when they took the lead. The ball was played through to the pacey number eleven from midfield between United centre-halves Dan Wordsworth and Dan Kirkup, Wordsworth filling in for the injured Terry Stewart, who was left out of the team with a twisted ankle. The Bury winger made no mistake as he took the ball on into the Carlisle box and toe-poked it left-footed past the advancing Bradley and into the corner of the net from 15 yards out.

The Blues almost equalised just two minutes later however when Earl sent Pete Ferris racing away down the right-wing. Cutting inside the Bury left-back Ferris tried a curler for the far corner with his left-foot from 18 yards out only for the Shakers keeper to make a tremendous save as he tipped the ball over his own bar. From the Earl corner in Carlisle seemed to be denied a blatant penalty when Wordsworth was bundled over at the near-post by the Bury number five, only for the referee to wave away the vehement United protests.

Funnily enough, after conceding the opening goal, the Cumbrians had their best spell of the game. Just before the half-time whistle an Earl flag-kick came back out to Ferris who sent a rasping 15-yard drive in which the Bury keeper parried out. The ball bounced back up to Kirkup who headed it into the direction of Hindmarch but the Keswick-born youngster sent his close-range effort into the side netting from a tight angle at the near-post.

The second 45 minutes, like the first-half, once more started quietly with Carlisle kicking down the slight slope at Frenchfields. In the 53^rd minute a good Bury tackle on Hindmarch in midfield saw the ball come to the Shakers number nine who tried a first-time drive which went flying well over the Carlisle crossbar from fully 25 yards out.

Two minutes later though and the Blues found an equaliser through a not very unusual source. A lovely delivery was sent in from a corner on the right by Earl straight to the head of the onrushing Kirkup who easily buried his effort into the top corner of the Shakers goal from just six yards out. That was the signal for Carlisle Centre of Excellence boss David Wilkes to make the first changes in the game, bringing on Martin Graham for Vipond and Rob Bainbridge for Baker.

With 58 minutes on the clock a slide-rule pass from the midfield was played into the United box for the visitors number eight to run onto but Bradley came out bravely to grab the ball at the Shakers player's feet ten yards out. Two minutes later the Bury number ten tried to lob Bradley after a long ball up from the left-back but the Carlisle keeper managed to push it away for a corner as he came out to close the effort down.

Sixty seconds later Hindmarch was a little selfish for the Blues, when he should really have played in Ferris down the right only to send a 25-yard drive over the Shakers crossbar with his right-foot. Hindmarch saw little more action in the game after that and twenty minutes from the end of the match he was replaced by Mike Stewardson. Shortly afterwards Kirkup sent a header just wide of the visitors near-post from 12 yards out after Earl had sent a deep free-kick into the Bury box.

After such a quiet opening to the game the last thirteen minutes was all action as both sides had chances to win a contest that at last began to open up. A ball into the United box came to the Bury centre-forward on the chest, his initial shot being blocked by Kirkup. The ball then came straight to the number four who, running in 15 yards out, tried a low side-footed effort which Bradley did well to hold on to at the second attempt.

With ten minutes left the Blues went close when Earl's corner from the right was flicked just over the Bury bar by Ferris with the outside of his right-foot at the near-post eight yards out. Two minutes later Andy Hardman, playing on the left of midfield, made a good tackle in the Bury half with the ball breaking on to Bainbridge just outside the Shakers area. Bainbridge then laid possession across to Ferris on the left-angle of the area but Ferris' chipped effort across goal with his right-foot was again expertly tipped over his own bar by the visitors keeper.

Bury made their first change in the 83^rd minute when the number four, who had been playing just in front of the back four, came off to be replaced by the number twelve who was immediately pushed upfront. Seconds later an Earl corner was part-cleared to Combe who sent the ball back into the Shakers area. It came straight across to Kirkup on the penalty spot who tried to chest it in, only to look on in frustrated fashion as it ran inches past the far-post with the Bury keeper rooted to his spot.

United were making the better chances in the later stages and tested the Shakers keeper again in the 85^th minute. Earl was brought down 25 yards out and Kirkup hammered the set-piece in across goal to the far corner where the Bury glovesman made another good save as he pushed the ball away from danger with both hands.

The last effort of the game fell to the visitors shortly afterwards when the left-winger sent a low ball into the substitute who took it in nicely and turned Kirkup in one motion. His effort from 10 yards out was sliced wide of the Carlisle near-post though with his left-foot from ten yards out. The final whistle eventually came after a lengthy four minutes of injury time in a hard-fought contest which threatened to boil over at times as yet another overly lenient referee let too many things go. Blues left-back Blake in particular being lucky to avoid a caution for a two-handed push on a Bury player, it wasn't a bad game though and it was certainly nice to not be stood in the freezing cold for a change.