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With Ged Dalton having departed the club this week, Simon Lakeland down with chickenpox and Gary Madine more than likely to be never seen at youth team level in the league again, United were down to four subsitutes on the bench. One of those being under-16 captain Shaun Law, while his fellow team-mate, Ryan Bowman, who will join Law on the YTS scheme next season, was in the starting eleven for the second game in a row.
Chester kicked off the game with the wind at their backs and it took both sides quiet a while to settle down, with the first shot on goal not coming until the 14th minute. Connor Tinnion, marauding in from the left, almost scoring the goal of the season when he dribbled past four or five defenders only to fire a left-footed shot from 18 yards out straight at the City keeper.
Two minutes later a Chester shot from distance deflected off Carlisle's Tom Aldred for a corner, then after 20 minutes City's lanky centre-forward, eight yards out, headed over the top of Alex Mitchell's crossbar from a corner. Some good work going forward by Matt Duffy and Andy Cook for the Blues five minutes later seeing Duffy hammer a left-footed shot from the left-angle of the City box way over the crossbar and almost into the river Eden.
Sixty seconds later and Carlisle were working their up the pitch well again, Cook and Tinnion this time involved in setting up Jonny Blake for a shooting opportunity just inside the left of the Chester penalty area. Blake trying the old "Thierry Henry" shot with the inside of his right-foot across goal but he couldn't find the far corner and the keeper was able to save easily.
Just after the half-hour mark Mitchell was again able to field a couple of similar speculative shots from range that City players fired in on his goal, before their number six, who had spent most of the game trying to get booked, finally achieved his mission after a poor tackle on Tinnion just outside the centre-circle with 35 minutes on the clock.
Three minutes on, and Blues right-back Matthew Brown, who had ended up over on the left after a set-piece, scooted away down that flank before thumping a left-footed drive from 15 yards out which pinged back off the base of the Chester near-post. The wind so strong that Brown was unable to chase the rebound down back past him before it went out for a throw-in.
The Cumbrians were just beginning to play some nice stuff now as they looked to move the ball around the pitch. Matthew Wood sending a good pass down the middle for Bowman with 40 minutes gone only for the City keeper to make a good one-on-one save from the United striker's right-footed ten-yard shot.
Moments later Carlisle making the breakthrough when Bowman laid the ball back to Aldred for a lovely curling pass from the Blues centre-back over the top of the Chester defence. Cook, almost on the visitors six-yard line, taking the ball down well on his chest before hitting an unstoppable left-footed shot on the turn into the back of the City net.
The Chester coaching staff then taking the opportunity before the kick-off to replace the number six who, since being yellow-carded, had given away a couple more free-kicks and heard a final warning from the referee. He didn't take too kindly to being substituted though as he hoofed some water bottles into the distance while putting his training jacket on.
A long goal-kick from Mitchell on 43 minutes saw Cook and Bowman feed the ball on to Wood breaking through the Chester ranks down the right-hand channel, Wood then pulling his right-footed shot from 15 yards out across goal and wide of the far-post. The last chance of the half also coming United's way, when Duffy's free-kick up was touched off by Cook to Dan Wordsworth 12 yards out, Wordsworth only blazing his right-footed shot well over the top though.
Those missed opportunities late in the first-half came back to bite the Blues on the behind immediately after the start of the second period though when the visitors equalised. City going straight up the pitch, after United had kicked off, with a cross coming in from the right seeing the tall centre-forward all alone two yards out to easily head home past Mitchell.
Another Chester player went into the book, this time for a foul on Duffy, in the 48th minute before the Blues regained the lead eight minutes later. A poor clearance from a City man going straight to the feet of Wood who pushed the ball forward to Cook. The Carlisle striker then netting his 18th goal of the season as he showed good strength to hold off two defenders and fire a right-footed drive beyond the visitors keeper from 18 yards out.
Moments later the Blues almost made it 3-1 when Wood once more, after nice play by Brown and Cook, found himself charging on goal down the middle. The City keeper doing well again though to block Wood's right-footed toe-poke from 15 yards out. With 65 minutes gone United boss Eric Kinder made his first change of the game when John Seaton replaced Tinnion, Seaton going onto the right flank as Stephen Hindmarch swapped wings.
Midway through the half a Chester shot from 22 yards out whistled wide of Mitchell's goal, that effort being the prelude to Carlisle making it 3-1. Mitchell's huge goal-kick on the wind disappearing over the visitors back-line, Bowman chased it down though and, for his first goal at this level from the edge of the box, sent a lovely right-footed lob on the half-volley over the advancing City keeper and on into the net.
The Blues were looking for more goals though and shortly afterwards Cook did well to win the ball on the right-hand by-line and send a low cross in which found Hindmarch at the back-post. The Borrowdale-based attacking midfielder firing in a left-footed strike from ten yards out which would have flown in had it been anywhere else but straight at the Chester keeper.
That was the last real action of the game for a slightly off-colour Hindmarch though as he was replaced by Michael Dowson with 76 minutes gone. Eric Kinder then making his third and final substitution of the match when Law replaced the hard-working Blake in the United engine room.
After 83 minutes Chester's number seven, who had been most active during the match in moaning at the referee (who incidentally had a very good game), finally took his complaining too far as he saw red for the straw of dissent that broke the camel's back. Shortly afterwards though, and despite now being down to ten men, a City half-volley came in from 22 yards out that flew inches wide of Mitchell's far-post.
A similar shot, and similar result, happened in the 85th minute up at the other end of the pitch as Wood was the Carlisle man looking to get on the scoresheet. A fourth goal did come for United though with sixty seconds to go after Bowman had been fouled over in the far corner. Law's free-kick into the box seeing the same defender who had conceded the set-piece heading the cross, under pressure from Cook, past his own goalkeeper from six yards out.
So that's five league wins in a row now for the young Blues, and twelve victories from their last fifteen matches in the division. Depending on Macclesfield's result at home to Oldham today United are now either second or third in the table, three points behind leaders Walsall with a game in hand, and have five or their seven games left to play at home, where they are unbeaten in the league all season.
The real big test of their title credentials comes in the next three matches though when they play three teams in the top six, those fixtures being Blackpool and Wigan at home and Walsall away. If they can come through those games relatively unscathed then the lads have a real chance of picking up some silverware in what has been a fantastic campaign so far, regardless of what happens from now.
United line-up :
Alex Mitchell, Matthew Brown, Matt Duffy, Tom Aldred, Dan Wordsworth, Jonny Blake (Shaun Law 80), Matthew Wood, Stephen Hindmarch (Michael Dowson 76), Ryan Bowman, Andy Cook, Connor Tinnion (John Seaton 65).
Unused substitute :
John Jamieson (GK).
Results in the division this morning :
Accrington Stanley 6-5 Rochdale, played at Rossendale United
Carlisle United 4-1 Chester
Macclesfield 6-2 Oldham
Port Vale P-P Morecambe
Wigan P-P Rochdale, Wigan's League Cup fixture takes precedence
Youth Alliance League Cup Northern Area Semi-Final results:
Burnley 2-2 Hartlepool, Hartlepool won 5-4 on penalties (played Friday)
Hull P-P Wigan (waterlogged pitch)
Fixtures in the division next Saturday morning :
Accrington Stanley v Shrewsbury
Blackpool v Stockport
Burnley v Tranmere
Bury v Walsall
Carlisle United P-P Wigan, Netherhall v Carlisle United in Cumberland Cup
Morecambe v Wrexham
Oldham v Chester
Preston North End v Macclesfield
Rochdale v Port Vale
Carlisle United v Blackpool (Monday)
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