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Chris Billy and Neale McDermott were back on the bench after their respective groin and ankle problems recently, while 16-year old striker Stephen Hindmarch kept his place amongst the Carlisle replacements due to United's paper-thin attacking options, Anthony Williams and Paul Arnison the other two potential Cumbrians substitutes. For the home side, in manager Colin Todd's 100th game in charge, veteran striker Dean Windass declared himself fit to start after recovering from a bruised calf but the game came too soon for Derby-loanee Lee Holmes.
City were unbeaten at home before kick-off, although bizarrely they had failed to take the lead in any of those three matches, they had the first chance to do just that after only ten seconds though when veteran ex-Nottingham Forest left-back Alan Rogers fired well over the Cumbrians bar from 25 yards out with a half-volley. The Blues came back sharply though and in the fourth minute Kevin Gall chipped a ball from the left into the middle which looked a good chance for Karl Hawley, only for United's dangerman to head wide from the centre of the Bantams penalty area.
City couldn't have gone much closer to taking the lead with ten minutes gone when Livesey fouled Windass in the air in a central position 25 yards out. Windass cheekily taking a free-kick as the Blues dallied over sorting out their defensive wall, the ball whistling just inches past Keiren Westwood's right-hand post with the Cumbrians keeper beaten. Sixty seconds later Paul Murray and Hawley collided as they went up for a ball in the air, Hawley having to leave the field for about five minutes for treatment to a head wound suffered in the challenge.
Leeds-loanee Ben Parker sent a cross in from the right on 15 minutes for Bradford which Windass looked to have got a poor header on from the edge of the Carlisle box, it was one of those lucky efforts though as it looped miles in the air and had Westwood backpedalling to tip it over from just under his own crossbar. Marc Bridge-Wilkinson stuck the corner in, and from a planned set-piece move Windass came round the back to the front only to see his well-hit ten-yard volley expertly hacked off the line at the near-post by David Raven.
In the 18th minute Raven cleared the ball away up the touchline only to be caught late by Parker, nearby Chris Lumsdon squaring up to Parker and receiving a yellow card for his troubles, along with the one Parker got for the initial challenge. United had defended a flurry of Bantams flag-kicks quite well as the home side had a good spell of pressure but a truly awful goal to give away, for the second match in a row, saw City take the lead on 21 minutes.
A nothing ball up by one-time Blues loanee Steven Schumacher saw ex-Bradford trialist Westwood come off his line and look to claim the ball only for Raven to come across and head it straight into the ground towards Windass. With United's keeper now stranded in no-mans land it left the City striker with the relatively simple task of firing a left-footed half-volley into the empty Carlisle net from 20 yards out, a really deflating goal to concede if ever there was one.
Two minutes later the home side looked to quickly double their lead when Eddie Johnson attempted to fire home from fully 25 yards out, fortunately for United though his shot was straight at the grateful Westwood. Schumacher was the next man up to the plate for a pumped-up City side when a Bridge-Wilkinson corner broke to him 12 yards out from the Cumbrians goal, his shot was rushed and wild though and flew wide of Westwood's far-post.
With 28 minutes gone Rogers was the third man on the night to go into referee Lee Probert from South Gloucestershire's notebook as he was yellow-carded for going in late on Thirlwell, Carlisle's latest signing having an impressive outing in the midfield engine room. Another Blues midfield man in Lumsdon wasted a fantastic chance just a minute later, Zigor Aranalde's long throw-in from the left being flicked on by Derek Holmes right into the path of the onrushing, and unmarked, Lumsdon 12 yards out. The Cumbrians playmaker got a dire connection on his left-footed half-volley though and all it did was bounce weakly up into the hands of City's giant Jamaican goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts.
The half got a lot more bitty from then on to the interval as both sides began to give the ball away, with the game descending into a bit of a midfield battle. Bang on the half-hour mark it was Lumsdon again who was looking to find an equaliser for Carlisle but his well-hit shot from 15 yards out on the right was well pushed around his near-post by Ricketts. Lumsdon's corner in then being headed over the Bantams crossbar by Hawley as he rose to win the ball on the City penalty spot.
Jinking Jamaican Jermaine Johnson looked dangerous at times as he took on the aging Aranalde down the right with his blistering pace, but all too often he got into good positions only to deliver a poor final ball in. Perhaps with that in mind he tried to do the job himself on 32 minutes but his shot on the run only went flying well over the Carlisle woodwork. Hawley looked to be in for the Cumbrians as he chased a Gall ball over the top but he was given, correctly in my opinion, inches offside and the chance of a United leveller was gone after 37 minutes.
Infact things could have been worse for the Blues seconds before the three minutes of first-half injury time elapsed as they almost went two goals behind. A Jermaine Johnson cross in breaking to Parker 18 yards out, the City right-back getting a good drive in which pinged off the legs of Livesey and dribbled inches wide of the Carlisle far-post with Westwood wrong-footed and rooted to his line. The whistle for half-time came moments later with United going down the tunnel 1-0 behind after gifting the home side a nothing goal.
The second-half got away as quietly as the last 15 minutes of the first one had ended, but a healthy slice of luck saw the Blues grab an equaliser five minutes in. A Peter Murphy cross in from the left seeing Hawley pressurise both City centre-halves in Marc Bower and skipper David Wetherall into clearing the ball poorly away to Gall 25 yards out. The ex-Yeovil man firing in a right-footed drive which looked to be going nowhere but straight at Ricketts, only for his effort to hit Lumsdon's backside on it's way goalwards and fly into the opposite corner of the City net, much to the delight of a giddy Lumsdon.
The Cumbrians then missed a huge chance to come from nowhere and take the lead just three minutes later after Bower had fouled Holmes 25 yards out on the left. Lumsdon swung the free-kick in to the six-yard box, and with Ricketts glued to his own goal-line like a rabbit in the headlights, an unmarked Livesey sliding in at the back-post somehow managed to lift his shot over the Bantams crossbar from about four yards out. The 668-strong travelling Blue Army couldn't believe their eyes as the ball flew over and it would certainly have been an unbelievable defensive clearance at the other end.
Livesey had to be awake at the other end as well when in the 55th minute the pacey Jermaine Johnson broke away quickly down the right and crossed in, the Blues centre-half needing to make an excellent interception as he sneaked in front of Eddie Johnson to win the ball inside the edge of the Carlisle penalty area. City boss Colin Todd made his first change of the night sixty seconds later when he brought on young striker Joe Colbeck for Parker. Shortly afterwards Ricketts just came off his line in time to hammer away a Lumsdon ball through the middle that Gall was looking to get on the end of outside the City box.
The Cumbrians were denied a goal again in the 58th minute when Ricketts, who isn't the best in the air considering his size, got under a Lumsdon corner and saw it sail well over his head to Murphy at the far-post. Carlisle's stand-in skipper on the night got a firm header in back across goal from six yards out only to see Rogers somehow make an athletic clearance as he got his left boot up to hack the ball away off the line. Hawley looked to follow up on the clearance but his shot was rushed and scuffed and Ricketts was able to gratefully dive onto the loose ball.
Moments later Windass showed how dangerous he can be running down the middle when he charged on towards the edge of the United box, only for Livesey to make an excellent block tackle on the veteran striker. The loose ball breaking to Schumacher 20 yards out but, under good pressure from the tracking Thirlwell, he fired well over the Cumbrians crossbar. In the 61st minute Aranalde brought down the flying Jermaine Johnson on the City right, the Basque left-back becoming Carlisle's second booking on the night.
Sixty seconds on Thirlwell's cross-field ball flew past Lumsdon only for Hawley to pick up on it 20 yards out, Hawley turning inside Wetherall before firing a right-footed shot sadly straight at Ricketts. In a really heavy spell of pressure for United Murray saw his long-range effort blocked by Bower shortly afterwards, Gall lobbing the loose ball back into the middle of the City box, Murray was on-hand to run onto it but it was inches ahead of him and he could only send his header weakly on the bounce straight at Ricketts.
Carlisle saw yet another great opportunity go begging after 64 minutes when Hawley made the wrong decision twice when he raced on to a Raven ball down the right-hand channel. Clear on goal he should have shot but he instead tried to square it for Gall, City's Nathan Doyle hacking the ball straight back to Hawley at a tight angle at the far-post. This time he should have passed but instead he shot and the chance was gone as he could only fire powerfully right-footed into the Bantams side-netting.
There was a bit of a flashpoint in the technical areas on 69 minutes when Raven cleared the ball away into touch for a City throw-in down the left. Bower looked to get hold of the ball and take the throw quickly but new United first-team coach, and ex-Bradford stalwart, Greg Abbott was the first there as he pounced to catch the ball. A slight scuffle ensued, with Bantams boss Todd adding in his two penneth, before fourth official Neil Yates from Lancashire stepped in to broker peace.
The next action in the match saw City make their second change of the night when yet another loan signing in David Graham, who seems to lost have his goalscoring ways in the last couple of seasons, from Sheffield Wednesday came on in place of Eddie Johnson after 73 minutes, that change seeing Jermaine Johnson move over from the right-wing to the left flank as the home side looked to up the pressure and find a late winner.
With both sides defending well when they didn't have the ball it wasn't until the last seven minutes that the match really started to open up and some chances were created. In the 83rd minute Windass tried to get a flicked header in on a Schumacher ball up but his effort lacked power and was an easy take for Westwood. Things really got going as the board went up to signal four minutes of time added on with firstly Wetherall heading a Bridge-Wilkinson corner goalwards only for Aranalde to make a good clearance.
Next up was Bridge-Wilkinson himself after Murray had gifted possession straight to him, the ex-Port Vale man seeing Westwood making an excellent two-handed save as the United keeper dived full length to parry away his 25-yarder across goal. Windass was another Bantam trying to the break the deadlock with a shot from distance but this time it was easy fare for Westwood as the ball flew straight at him. Two minutes into stoppage time Hindmarch came on for Holmes as the Blues looked to run the clock down, then just sixty seconds later Raven became the third Carlisle booking on the night as he was yellow-carded for a daft tackle through the back of Jermaine Johnson.
Just it was looking all on to end in a draw though United almost stole all three points at the absolute death after a Hindmarch cross to the back-post saw Bower concede a corner. Lumsdon stuck the flag-kick in which Aranalde met with a thumping header only for the huge frame of Ricketts to get down and make an excellent parried save on his line, although the ball was at a nice height for him to save. Doyle cleared the danger from there as the final whistle blew to leave Aranalde holding his head in hands in disbelief that he hadn't won the game for the Blues, the 7,966 fans inside the Bradford and Bingley Stadium drifting away into the night as they reflected on the 1-1 final scoreline.
Post-match quotes :
Bradford goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts said :
"We needed that, because a point is better than none. We were happy to get a draw because in the second half they were all over us. One thing we can be positive about is that we are still unbeaten at home."