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Cobblers boss John Gorman wandered over to the away dugout to a warm round of applause from the Brunton Park faithful, Gorman having played 261 games for the Cumbrians in the 1970s. Town had injury worries to Andy Kirk, Eoin Jess and Andy Holt before the game, and only Kirk would actually make the match as Jess and Holt missed out with back and knee problems respectively.
Referee Andrew Hall from Birmingham showed his intentions of how much he liked to blow his whistle as early as seven seconds in. Peter Murphy being penalised for winning a fair header over the top of Kirk, with the set-piece taken by ex-Blackburn man Jerome Watt, making his first start for the Cobblers, coming to nothing. The visitors had the opening shot of the game through Watt as well in the fourth minute but Blues skipper Kevin Gray was on-hand to block the 25-yard effort.
United put some pressure on in the eighth minute when Kevin Gall took in a David Raven throw-in and stuck a cross into the Cobblers box. Gray had stayed forward after an earlier Zigor Aranalde free-kick was cleared out moments earlier, and he nodded the ball back into the middle. Veteran visitors midfielder Ian Taylor tried to flick it on into the arms of his goalkeeper Mark Bunn but the glovesman was unable to prevent a Cumbrians corner, like most Carlisle flag-kicks though no chance was created.
It was pretty dull fare throughout the first-half in all honesty as the visitors flooded the midfield in a successful attempt to cancel out United's passing game. The next half-chance coming in the 18th minute when Karl Hawley looked to chase down a Chris Lumsdon chipped pass over the top, Bunn had spotted the danger though and was quickly off his line to just beat Hawley to the loose ball.
It was Hawley again in the thick of the action two minutes later when he failed to convert a good close-range headed opportunity. Aranalde and Simon Hackney combining well for the Basque left-back to stick in a pacey cross to the Town near-post which Hawley, scooting in front of experienced Cobblers centre-half Sean Dyche, got too much on as he zipped his header over the angle of Bunn's post and bar from just six yards out.
Northampton dangerman Scott McGleish got on the end of a Taylor knock-down to a Watt free-kick in after 22 minutes but his shot was well blocked by Murphy. Then sixty seconds later McGleish tried an acrobatic overhead kick from a cross in by left-back Jason Crowe but this time Aranalde got a part-block in and Blues keeper Keiren Westwood was able to take the effort easily.
Murphy had much less success moments later when his attempted scissor kick, from an Aranalde set-piece in, saw him only succeed in giving away a free-kick after booting Town midfielder Joe Burnell straight in the chops. Bang on the half-hour mark McGleish almost scored with a completely mis-hit cross that Westwood had to backpedal after and tip over his own crossbar. Watt stuck the corner in and young visitors right-back Luke Chambers got a powerful header in from just six yards out which Hackney did well to hammer off the United goal-line at the back-post.
Kirk tried his luck from distance shortly afterwards as Northampton had their best spell in the game but Westwood was able to watch it fly over his goal and into the Warwick Road End. The Blues soon came roaring back though and Bunn made an outstanding save, although the ball was at a nice height for him, in the 36th minute to prevent the Cumbrians from taking the lead. A long pass down the left-hand channel by Lumsdon finding Hawley as the Town defenders dithered and left the ball for each other to deal with. Hawley sticking a cross into the far-post where Paul Murray, running in late, looked to have scored with a firm header back across goal, only for Bunn to make a full-length one-handed diving save and push the ball away from the bottom corner of his net.
Hackney stuck a good cross in from the left sixty seconds later which Holmes could only head wide of Bunn's far-post from 12 yards out. Then two minutes later a goalmouth scramble ensued after good work by Hackney on the left saw another dangerous ball come in, Gall's mis-hit shot from a good position finding Derek Holmes. The big Scot was on the ground though after challenging in the air for the ball in and he could only hook a powderpuff shot goalwards from eight yards out which sneaked beyond Bunn, only for Town centre-half Chris Doig to hack it off the line. Lumsdon was the first to the loose ball but disappointingly he could only blaze his right-footed effort well over from just outside the edge of the Cobblers penalty area.
It was all United now and Bunn made another good save in the 41st minute as he pushed a Murray 18-yard piledriver across goal out for a corner at his back-post. Lumsdon stuck the flag-kick, which Bunn misjudged the flight of, but Gray couldn't take advantage though at the back-stick as he headed the chance wide of the target. The Murray show continued on 43 minutes when Dyche looked to be fouling Holmes in the box as they both went for an Aranalde long throw-in. The ball broke straight to Murray's right-foot 15 yards out but his side-footed effort only whistled agonisingly inches past the Town far-post with Bunn rooted to his line, as the 200 or so travelling supporters watched the action with their hearts in their mouths.
Two minutes into injury time at the end of the half Gall's cross in from the right was headed cleverly back into the path of Holmes by Hawley. Holmes' connection on his shot was poor though and the livewire Murray also couldn't get a clear effort in on goal, Bunn being able to calm things down at last as he fell easily on the ball in front of his own goal-line. So, 0-0 at half-time, but at least a goal had looked more likely now after an extremely quiet opening 25 minutes.
The ineffective Sam Aiston had moved from the right-wing to the left midway through the first-half for Town, and later in the half he was struggling after going down with an ankle injury. That knock meaning he was replaced at the start of the second period by Ryan Gilligan, and Gilligan made an immediate impact on the game just over a minute in as the Blues gave away an awful goal defensively.
Gilligan being allowed far too much time to hit a low ball into the Carlisle box from the right, Gray was still the favourite to make the clearance ahead of McGleish though, but he inexplicably left the ball as he presumably thought it would run through into the arms of Westwood. Instinctive goalscorers like McGleish only need a sniff of a chance though and Gray's mistake allowed the stocky Camden Town-born Scotsman to nip in and flick the ball into the far bottom corner of the Carlisle net with his left foot from the middle of the United six-yard line.
What a horrible goal to concede, but to the Cumbrians credit they didn't sulk about it and they quickly set about trying to find an equaliser. Murray getting forward well again in the 52nd minute when he hammered in a low 30-yard half-volley which Bunn did well to pluck out of the air with both hands. New Blue loanee Thirlwell made his United debut in the 54th minute as he came on to replace Holmes, Hackney moving out on the left, Hawley into the middle of the front three, Thirlwell slotting into central midfield, and Lumsdon pushing out onto the right of the middle three.
It was that brand new combination of Hackney on the left and Hawley in the middle which brought Carlisle a fully deserved 54th minute equaliser, although it was Murray who the Blues really had to thank though. Hackney's slide-rule pass down the left-hand channel of the Town box seeing Chambers just get there first, only for his attempted clearance to cannon back off Murray's sliding tackle straight to the feet of Hawley with his back to goal at the near-post four yards out. A neat first touch saw him turn Burnell quickly, and from there he was able to slide the ball under the diving Bunn and into the net to bring matters level in the game once more.
John Gorman was throwing his toys out of the pram as he complained about the fact that he thought Crowe had been fouled in the build-up to the goal, he would have had a go at his own players even more though if the Blues had taken the lead, as they should have done, two minutes later. Hawley beating the offside trap down the left-hand channel as he raced onto a Murray pass, Dyche was quickly there to close down a good angle for the shot but Hawley still went for it even with Gall completely unmarked 12 yards out screaming for just one pass. The effort from Hawley went well over, the majority of the 7,602 strong crowd groaned, the chance was gone and Gall was left with his head in his hands as Hawley offered a weak hand of apology.
Carlisle really had their tails up now but another glorious chance to take the lead went begging just sixty seconds later. A nice overlap by Aranalde and Hackney down the left seeing Aranalde curl a lovely inviting cross into the middle of the Cobblers penalty area, it came straight into the stride of the running-in Lumsdon but his header down was weak and all it did was bounce straight up into the hands of a very grateful Bunn.
Just after the hour mark Murray was again trying to do the Cumbrians work all on his own as he fired in a dangerous left-footed effort from 25 yards out, only for it to fly straight at the overworked Town goalkeeper. Shortly afterwards Northampton made their second change of the game as they brought on Australian Pedj Bojic, who scored the Cobblers winner in the corresponding fixture last season, in place of the ineffectual Watt.
The visitors came back into the game a little bit more in the second part of the half after weathering the United storm following the equaliser from Hawley. Gilligan once more being given far too much time on the ball in the 72nd minute as he turned 25 yards out and unleashed a real piledriver of a shot inches over Westwood's crossbar with his right foot. Town almost having a goalscoring opportunity again with 15 minutes to go when Murphy decided to leave a long goal-kick over the top by Bunn, Westwood just out in time to grab hold of the ball away from the dangerous McGleish.
The next action in the match saw Northern Irish international forward James Quinn (not to be confused with 46-year old Jimmy Quinn) come on for Kirk who had been well shackled by Murphy all afternoon. The game was back to being a battle in midfield once more though as neither side looked able to find the killer touch, both teams not willing to commit too many men forward and get done on the break by the pace of the other, Hawley having the only real half-chance with five minutes left when he fired a 20-yard half-volley over the Cobblers crossbar.
United's first-year YTS frontman Hindmarch replaced Hackney in the 86th minute, at the tender age of sixteen Hindmarch becoming the third youngest debutant in Carlisle history behind John Slaven and Dan Dillon. Sixty seconds later Murphy was the only player on the day to go into referee Hall's notebook as he was booked for a cynical trip on Bojic, the Australian upended as he looked to race clear down the left-hand channel. That was it though really with nothing much else happening in the remaining time, or the three allotted minutes of injury time, with no doubt both sides going away thinking they could have got the win, although the Blues certainly had by far the better chances to do just that.
Post-match quotes :
After the draw a delighted Northampton boss John Gorman said:
"I'm well-pleased with the end result. We passed it well but we probably scored too early in the second half. We were unlucky to lose the equaliser because we thought it was a foul to us before they broke away and scored.