It was United who started the better and in the sixth minute Simon Eastwood saved well from a Vincent Pericard header following a Kevan Hurst corner, Ian Harte then seeing his follow up effort on the rebound cleared off the line. The visitors then hitting back after 15 minutes when winger Scott Neilson fired powerfully inches wide on the turn from distance.
Ramsden picked up his first yellow card just sixty seconds later for a foul on the impressive Robson before Ramsden himself headed wide from a Neilson corner. Carlisle though missing a good chance to take the lead on 24 minutes when an unmarked Harte could only head a Robson corner over the top from only six yards out. James Hanson then heading a Neilson cross straight into the arms of Lenny Pidgeley as City pressed.
Bradford were having a good spell in the game now and Gareth Evans toe-poked a shot wide of Pidgeley's near-post before Neilson then forced a diving save from the United goalkeeper. The big turning point in the tie came on 39 minutes when Ramsden, who had been tormented by Robson in the early stages, blocked off the run of the pacey left-winger once more and received his second yellow card, and therefore a quick flash of a red card.
The visitors did look like they would go into the break level but Carlisle ended those hopes after 44 minutes. Pericard touching off play to Robson whose shot from the edge of the box was parried away by Eastwood. Keogh was marauding up from the back for the Cumbrians though and he was able to sweep the ball home into an unguarded net to give United the lead.
Despite their awful end to the second half and a numerical disadvantage City came roaring back after the interval and had Carlisle heavily on the back foot early on. Pidgeley straight away flapping dreadfully at a Neilson corner into his six-yard box which caused an almighty goalmouth scramble, Zesh Rehman the unlucky Bantam as he saw his close range toe-poke hacked off the line by United left-back Evan Horwood.
Evans then seconds later looked to catch Pidgeley off guard with a long range lob that landed on top of the Carlisle net, Hanson then having a 22-yard half-volley saved by Pidgeley. Bang on the hour-mark and Bradford should have scored again when another moment of poor play from Pidgeley saw him spill a shot from Evans, Hanson then somehow seeing efforts on the rebound first blocked on the line by Harte and then Horwood as the ball just wouldn't go in for the Bantams.
Pidgeley all over the place again moments afterwards when some poor positioning from the former Chelsea man found a neat chip from Hanson drifting inches wide of the target. Carlisle doubled their lead on the break in the 68th minutes though through substitute Dobie, who had only been on the field for four minutes. The pacey striker set free through the middle by Hurst before firing past Eastwood and into the far corner of the City net from the edge of the box.
The home side making sure of their Northern Area Final place six minutes later when an Omar Daley corner for Bradford was cleared out by Pericard and picked up on by Robson in his own half. The one-time Hartlepool flyer zooming forward at pace inside two City defenders before shooting back across Eastwood and into the near-post of the Bantams net from 18 yards out.
Carlisle could then have made the final score even more unfair on the visitors put Pericard could only shoot straight at Eastwood when one-on-one with the Bantams stopper in the middle of the box. Eastwood though making a very good one-handed save on the final chance of the game in the 87th minute, the Huddersfield-loanee palming away at full stretch after Dobie had got on the end of a Robson cross in from the left.