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Winter had certainly turned up at the Garlands as well with a biting cold wind blowing straight down a sloping pitch to further assist Mansfield in the first-half. It was Carlisle though who had the first shot of the game after four minutes when Liam Davison, on the end of an Andy Cook pass, shot tamely right-footed at the Stags goalkeeper from just outside the penalty area.
Cook two minutes later, after a Matt Duffy cross in from the left had only been part-cleared, hitting a right-footed 22-yarder that the visitors stopper grabbed hold of at the second attempt. Connor Tinnion then setting the ball across to Duffy after ten minutes, with the United left-back smacking his shot from 25 yards out well over the top of the Mansfield goal.
The Stags got their first goal attempt in five minutes later when some poor Carlisle marking from a throw-in allowed one of the visitors midfielders to arrow a 25-yard shot in from the right-hand channel which whistled across goal and just above the far-post. Duffy, shortly afterwards sending in a lovely deep cross from the left which just flew over the head of Cook at the Mansfield back-stick.
It was a busy spell in the game for United now but they just couldn't find the net three times in three minutes moments later. Cook, cutting in well from the right and laying the ball back to Davison who saw his right-footed shot on the turn from close range deflected up in air for the goalkeeper to catch. Cook then, from a Jonny Blake ball down the left-hand channel, finding his 12-yard right-footed toe-poke headed off the line by a covering Stags defender.
The final opportunity involving Cook and Davison once more as first Cook's right-footed drive from 18 yards out was blocked, then Davison lashed the rebound well wide of the far-post from a similar distance. Mansfield coming out of their bunker after 21 minutes when their left-winger, from a long goal-kick up, hit a half-volley from a tight angle just outside the Carlisle box well over the top on the wind.
Three minutes later and Blake was chipping a ball into the Mansfield penalty area that was headed straight up into the air by a defender, the dropping ball then being volleyed right-footed by Cook from 15 yards out straight at the well-positioned goalkeeper. One of the Stage strikers on the half-hour mark, as the tie went into a lull, badly pulling a right-footed shot across goal and wide from just outside the United box on the right.
With 38 minutes on the clock the visitors right-winger, who was surprisingly substituted at half-time, nutmegged Duffy with a lovely turn down the flank before sticking a cross in which Carlisle centre-half Jamie Cleary sliced away over his own crossbar. The resultant corner in bouncing off Blake's knees and into the gloves of Blues goalkeeper Alex Mitchell at the back-post.
The last action of the half coming just as we entered injury-time when, from a Tinnion pass, Ryan Bowman's right-footed 15-yard drive was saved by the Mansfield stopper, Seaton then just unable to get on the end of the rebound as it went out for a corner. Blake putting that in before a little bit of pinball in the penalty area eventually found the ball being hoofed clear as the whistle went for the interval.
So just that Stags substitution during the break, then three minutes in United could have taken the lead. Cook flicking on a header in behind to Bowman down the right-hand channel, Bowman then rounding the advancing goalkeeper on the edge of the penalty area only to, off-balance, slice his 15-yard right-footed shot well wide of the target.
Carlisle missing another good chance sixty seconds later when Seaton volleyed right-footed over the top ten yards out at the Stags back-post following Tinnion's deep cross in from the left. Cook then hitting a 20-yard right-footed strike straight at the goalkeeper as United took charge in the game once more.
Tinnion had the Mansfield right-back turned inside and out and inside again in the 52nd minute before hitting in a low cross which one of the Stags defenders somehow sliced over his own bar from six yards out to avoid netting an own goal. The resultant Blake corner curling over the crossbar on the cold wind.
Two minutes later and a lovely Duffy ball over the top found Bowman running clear in on goal, the Mansfield glovesman though making another good save to block Bowman's ten-yard right-footed shot wide for a corner. Blake touching the flag-kick off to Duffy whose ball in was only part-cleared to Tinnion 22 yards out, with Tinnion's left-footed half-volley then skipping wide of the far-post.
Tinnion was giving the Mansfield right-back nightmares again in the 59th minute and this time his left-footed cross in was converted, Blake the last in a queue of United players at the back-post able to tap the ball home from close range. The Stags though almost equalising immediately when their centre-forward hit a powerful right-footed shot on the turn from 12 yards out that looked in all the way, fortunately for Carlisle though it zipped inches wide of the target.
United were pressing again though just after the hour-mark when Bowman down the right again, from a Cook pass, saw his right-footed 15-yard drive once more saved by the busy Mansfield goalkeeper. Tinnion's left-footed corner in seeing the ball bounce all over the place before Duffy's left-footed half-volley from the penalty spot area seemed to be deflected over the top only for a goal-kick to be given.
That second goal just wouldn't come for Carlisle as in the 63rd minute Cook's right-footed shot from 15 yards out saw the legs of the Stags stopper once more come into play. A host of missed chances for the young Blues being punished on 68 minutes when one of the Mansfield strikers, on the break after another United attack, hit a right-footed drive from just inside the penalty area that crept under the body of Mitchell and over the Carlisle goal-line.
The 71st minute saw Cook make an excellent run in from the left as he beat three defenders before smashing in a fierce right-footed drive from 12 yards out which pulled out the best save of the day from the Mansfield goalkeeper. Blake and Tinnion then both seeing crosses in from the corner cleared before Blake headed possession back into the box and Duffy took the ball in on his chest before firing a ten-yard left-footed volley inches over the crossbar.
The Stags were looking a little dangerous on the break though and on 74 minutes their substitute thumped in a right-footed shot on the turn from 22 yards out straight at Mitchell. Carlisle making their first change of the game three minutes later when Chris McDougall came on for Seaton and United changed to a 4-3-3 formation as they hunted for a late winner to stop the tie going straight to penalties.
The 79th minute saw Cook fouled 25 yards out in the middle, the United striker getting up to hammer the free-kick right-footed straight into the visitors defensive wall. The Stags had by far their best chance to win the game four minutes later when one of their central midfielders made an excellent run through the middle as he went past Tom Aldred and Cleary only to, just eight yards out in front of goal, tamely shoot left-footed straight at Mitchell.
Mansfield getting another shot in on 85 minutes and it was the substitute once more who hit a right-footed drive across goal and wide from 18 yards out on the right. United though found a deserved winning strike sixty seconds later when Cook had been brought down in the left-hand side of the penalty area. Duffy, after Cook had seen his spot-kick in the Accrington league game saved, stepping up to the mark to send the goalkeeper the wrong way left-footed with a shot low into the far bottom corner.
Just before the 90 minute mark the Stags left-winger stuck a deep cross in to the United back-post which the Blues defenders were a little eager to let go as one of the visitors midfielders volleyed into Mitchell's side-netting from almost on the by-line. The last chance of the game coming sixty seconds into the three minutes of injury time played when McDougall's right-footed drive from 25 yards out on the left went just wide of the visitors far-post.
So, the Blues youngsters are now into the Northern quarter-finals of the League Cup, the third round of the FA Youth Cup and they also sit in second place in the league. An excellent start to the season by the lads sees them next visit Bury in a league fixture on Saturday morning, that game coming after the draw for the last eight of the League Cup will have been made on Monday.
United line-up :
Alex Mitchell, Simon Lakeland, Matt Duffy, Tom Aldred (c), Jamie Cleary, Jonny Blake, John Seaton (Chris McDougall 77), Liam Davison, Andy Cook, Ryan Bowman (Shaun Law 86), Connor Tinnion.
Unused substitutes :
Mark Gillespie (GK), Mark Sloan and Steven Swinglehurst.
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