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The gusty wind was once more howling sideways across the pitch with neither team gaining any advantage from it, the visitors had the first shot on goal though on six minutes when a left-footed effort was sliced well wide of Grant Carson's net from 20 yards out. The next goal attempt came the way of the Blues on 16 minutes when Gary Madine tried a speculative half-volley from 30 yards out on the right which whistled past the City far-post.
Carson easily saved a 20-yard Chester half-volley sixty seconds later, then shortly afterwards Matthew Wood was fouled slap bang on the right-angle of the City box. Matthew Blake stepped up to take the free-kick left-footed but his shot was deflected and the ball bounced safely up into the arms of the visitors keeper. United went close on 19 minutes when a quick free-kick from Matthew Blake allowed Connor Tinnion to cross in a dangerous low centre from the left, the Chester defence just managing to hack the ball away from danger.
Three minutes later Carson was again in the right place at the right time to easily catch a long-range City half-volley, then on 23 minutes Stephen Hindmarch seemed to be clearly brought down only for play to carry on and break up the other end as Chester won a free-kick, conceded by Dan Wordsworth on Paul McManus, on the left-hand by-line. The ball was laid back to the visitors left-back from the set-piece and his 20-yard drive was taken in by Carson at the second attempt.
The game went through a long quiet spell now with the wind dictating play as the ball spent a lot of time off the playing surface. The next action of any note coming on 38 minutes when Madine was fouled 30 yards out in the left-hand channel, Matthew Blake hammering the resultant free-kick with his left foot wide of the near-post. Shortly afterwards Hindmarch was brought down 30 yards out in a central position by the same City defender who was skating on thin ice to be honest. This time Matthew Brown took the free-kick but his curled right-footed effort flew over the top of the visitors crossbar.
There was almost as much action late in the first half as there had been in the whole of it with a Chester striker beating Wordsworth to a ball over the top in the 45th minute, his left-footed shot from 18 yards out was weak though and easy for Carson to take. A minute into stoppage time Tinnion made a run forward down the left-hand channel and fired in a low left-footed shot which fairly flew straight into the grateful arms of the City custodian.
That was simply a taster of better things to come from the United youngster though as the Blues took the lead two minutes into injury time in the opening period. An Ashley Combe throw-in from the right was headed on by Gary Madine into the path of Hindmarch. Spotting the unmarked Tinnion to his left Hindmarch knocked the ball over to the Cumbrians winger, with Tinnnion then thumping a perfect left-footed half-volley from the edge of the City box back across goal and into the far corner of the Chester net.
Five minutes after the break a spot of handbags in the United box following a City free-kick saw stand-in skipper Terry Stewart, who often seems to be the victim of mistaken identity, receive a yellow card when he didn't look to have been involved in the pushing and shoving. Four minutes later a long distance half-volley from the Chester right-back sailed miles past Carson's far-post, then on 57 minutes City's McManus made a determined run forward only to pull his 20-yard left-footed drive well wide of the Carlisle near-post.
Just after the hour mark the visitors number seven was booked for an off the ball incident with Hindmarch, the Chester coach choosing that break in play to make his first substitution of the afternoon. It was around this time that things started to get tetchy between the two sides and the volcano finally did erupt on 64 minutes. Matthew Brown and his opposite number eight hadn't been on the friendliest terms all day and that came to a head when the City man scythed right through the back of Brown as the United man ran on with the ball.
So, just a talking to and a yellow card, well you'd have thought so, only for the referee to deem that it had been the second booking of the day for the Chester man as he produced the yellow card then the red one. Chaos ensued for a couple of minutes with the City player, and even more so his coach Simon Davies on the sideline, going understandably apoplectic at the mistake by the official. This referee wasn't for turning though and the game eventually resumed with the visitors reduced to ten men.
Surprisingly that bizarre incident seemed to calm things down and take the heat out of the game, United going close to extending their lead on 69 minutes when a whipped-in Tinnion corner from the right was headed narrowly wide of the City back-stick by the running-in Madine. Sixty seconds later Cumbrians boss Eric Kinder made his first change of the afternoon when he brought on new boy Tom Aldred for Brown in midfield.
The sending off seemed to galvanise the visitors with them actually looking to play better with a man light. McManus fired a right-footed 18-yarder across goal from the right and out at the far-post on 73 minutes, then, shortly afterwards, the City left-back pulled a half-volley well wide of the Carlisle far-post from 20 yards out. As they looked for a late equaliser the visitors made a substitution in the 83rd minute, Jonny Blake coming on at right-back in place of Ashley Combe for the Blues at the same time.
The 85th minute was the real turning point in the game as United could have gone 2-0 up only to be pegged back to 1-1 just sixty seconds later. An initial Matthew Wood corner was tipped over his own bar by the City keeper, Wood's next flag-kick in seeing Stewart rise completely unchallenged six yards out to head the ball firmly home. The referee blew the whistle though as he harshly disallowed the goal for a Carlisle player allegedly shouting "leave it" as the ball in flew across the Chester box.
Pretty much straight from the City free-kick the visitors managed to grab a late leveller as McManus and the Chester number twelve made headway down the United left. McManus eventually getting into position on the right-hand angle of the Blues box to fire an unstoppable right-footed drive across Carson and into the back of the Cumbrians net. A cruel blow for United after it had looked like they had wrapped the game up just moments earlier.
Carlisle's only real chance to regain the lead came in the 88th minute when a Wood corner to the back-stick was headed back across the goal by Aldred, Hindmarch rose to the meet the ball at the near-post but he couldn't keep his header down as it flew over the top of the Chester crossbar. Just a couple of minutes of injury time came and went at the end of the game with the final whistle soon coming on what was, pretty much, a fair 1-1 result on the balance of play.
United line-up :
Grant Carson, Ashley Combe (Jonny Blake 83), Matthew Blake, Terry Stewart, Dan Wordsworth, Michael Dowson, Matthew Wood, Matthew Brown (Tom Aldred 70), Stephen Hindmarch, Gary Madine, Connor Tinnion.
Unused substitutes :
Alex Mitchell (GK) and Richie Hoban.
Results in the division this morning :
Bury 0-2 Walsall
Carlisle 1-1 Chester
Macclesfield 4-3 Accrington Stanley
Oldham 1-5 Port Vale
Shrewsbury 1-1 Wigan
Stockport 1-1 Burnley
Tranmere 1-0 Rochdale
Wrexham P-P Preston
Fixtures in the division next Saturday :
Carlisle v Oldham
Macclesfield v Walsall
Rochdale v Preston North End
Wigan v Accrington Stanley
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