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A quiet opening to proceedings saw the first chance of the game create the first goal of the game when Ryan Bowman put Carlisle 1-0 up after eight minutes. A long pass over the top from Tom Aldred seeing the two Oldham centre-halves, one of which was former Blues trialist from last season Laquan Biney, fail to deal with it, that allowing Bowman to nip through and lob the ball with the front of his right boot over the top of Latics goalkeeper Josh Ollerenshaw and into the net from 18 yards out.
Nine minutes later and Oldham made a good break forward, one of their strikers though seeing his 15-yard shot well blocked by Blues midfielder Liam Davison. The United number eight being involved at the other end shortly afterwards when, after Andy Cook's chest down on the edge of the Latics penalty area from Simon Lakeland's ball up, he sent a left-footed half-volley inches wide of the visitors right-hand post.
Davison, always looking to get forward from the middle of the pitch, being the man of the moment as the ball dropped to him again moments later, this time though his half-volley on his stronger right foot from a similar distance went straight at Ollerenshaw.
The Latics then made the scoreline 1-1 with 22 minutes on the clock when left-winger Will McCall fired a 20-yard right-footed shot in which was going all the way straight at Blues stopper Alex Mitchell, only for it to flick off the head of Aldred and go flying into the opposite corner of the United net.
Carlisle were soon on the attack again though three minutes later when Cook made a great run forward and eventually saw his right-footed 20-yarder, which was arrowing towards the top corner, well pushed wide by Ollerenshaw. The resultant Connor Tinnion flag-kick in being headed over the top by Jonny Blake eight yards out.
Cook had now taken over from Davison as the centre of the action and with 36 minutes gone his right-footed 22-yard shot on the turn flew over the Latics crossbar. Four minutes later Cook winning a free-kick 30 yards out, which he dusted himself down to take, only to thump it right-footed straight into the visitors defensive wall.
The last action of the first-half coming a minute before the interval when Cook was a little harshly booked, given some of the other challenges that went unpunished, for doing nothing more than pushing one of the Oldham defenders in the back, and therefore to the floor, as the Latic looked to shepherd the ball out for a goal-kick.
So, into the second-half and straight from their own kick-off Oldham gave the ball away, Cook profiting on that as he fed possession to Davison in the Latics penalty area. Davison's left-footed shot from 12 yards out deflecting off the legs of an Oldham defender and straight up into the arms of Ollerenshaw. Tinnion getting his own Carlisle effort in after 48 minutes when he cut in from the right and fired a 20-yarder over the top with his left foot.
United did regain the lead just two minutes later though when Cook chased down Blake's deep pass into the far corner of the pitch. The Blues frontman sending a low ball across for his strike-partner Bowman, which just flicked off the studs of an Oldham defender's diving boot, before Bowman hammered it into the roof of the Latics net with the inside of his right foot from 15 yards out.
Oldham, now looking for their second equaliser of the game, having a half-chance moments later when one of their centre-halves sent an 18-yard half-volley over Mitchell's crossbar after one of their corners had only been partly cleared by the United defence.
Carlisle shortly afterwards going straight up the other end, with Steven Swinglehurst's cross in from his left-back berth only being headed away to straight to Blues midfielder Shaun Law 30 yards out. Law though unable to take advantage as he sliced an attempted right-footed half-volley well wide of the Latics far-post.
Just before the hour mark and Oldham's McCall hit a wild 18-yard shot which flew miles past the United near-post, the visitors then changing from a 4-4-2 to a 4-3-3 formation as they pressed for a levelling goal. It made little impact for a while though as the game became a little bit scrappy, with both sides hitting the ball a little bit too long at times on a bobbly Gillford Park training pitch.
The next action of any note coming on 72 minutes when Davison fired a right-footed 20-yarder over the top of the Latics goal. Cook and Bowman combining well upfront two minutes later, Bowman hitting a low cross in from the left which Cook was just unable to knock into the Oldham net with a diving stretch at the far-post.
Moments later the Latics made a double substitution and then with 76 minutes on the clock their left-back was booked for a bad foul on Blake on the right flank. Tinnion's left-footed free-kick in being cleared straight back to him, with his resultant cross then falling to Cook at the Oldham back-stick. Cook though struggled to get the ball out of his feet a little and his 15-yard shot was easily saved by Ollerenshaw.
Two minutes on, in an end-to-end encounter, Davison could perhaps have taken a bit more time as he hammered a right-footed half-volley from 15 yards out over the Latics crossbar. Shortly afterwards Oldham's left-back fouled Blake again yet somehow escaped another booking, to be honest he had done more than enough in the game to get three yellow cards, never mind the just one.
The Oldham bench seemingly realising that it was time to take advantage of their good fortune as they substituted him straight away to make sure that they finished the game with eleven men. For me, I don't think I'll see another match for quite a while where one player has been so lucky not to have been sent off.
United were getting a lot of space on the break as the Latics pressed forward and after 86 minutes Tinnion played a neat ball through to Bowman down the right-hand channel. Bowman then firing a right-footed 18-yarder across the face of the Oldham goal and inches wide of the far-post. Just as the clock ticked into injury time Aldred, having been fouled a couple of minutes earlier, hobbled off the pitch to be replaced at centre-half by recent Blues signing Jamie Cleary.
For all Oldham's huff and puff and possession they really weren't creating any chances, mainly due to Carlisle's excellent defending. The last opportunity in the game to get another goal coming the way of United two minutes into injury time when Tinnion made a jinking run in from the right and curled a long-range left-footer across goal and onto the face of the Oldham crossbar, the rebound catching Bowman offside.
So, three wins in a row now for the young Blues, the United back four having to take a lot of credit for today's victory. The only Carlisle player not to get a mention so far has been centre-half Matt Duffy, but he, along with Swinglehurst, Aldred and Lakeland won header after header after header as they repelled all the long Oldham balls that were pumped forward to the edge of the United box.
United line-up :
Alex Mitchell, Simon Lakeland, Matt Duffy, Tom Aldred (Jamie Cleary 90), Steven Swinglehurst, Jonny Blake, Shaun Law, Liam Davison, Andy Cook, Ryan Bowman, Connor Tinnion.
Unused substitutes :
Mark Gillespie (GK), Chris McDougall and James Wood.
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