The Blues did have the first chance of the game after four minutes however when Gary Madine headed wide from a James Berrett corner. Town though going extremely close sixty seconds later when Adam Collin first saved well from Peter Clarke's shot and then made another excellent stop from Joey Gudjonsson's low drive in on the rebound. Madine then heading wide again from another Berrett corner shortly afterwards as the Cumbrians looked to press.
Craig Curran, from a Ben Marshall pass, then shot wildly over the top before in the 19th minute Lee Peltier's cross into the Carlisle box saw Alan Lee send an acrobatic volley narrowly off target. Benik Afobe then just failed to get on the end of a Kevin Kilbane cross for Town before they did take the lead after 23 minutes, Gudjonsson's free-kick to the back-post seeing Lee Novak's header saved by Collin, only for Novak to then set up Peter Clarke for a short blasted drive into the United net.
Ben Marshall and Mike Grella then had shots which resulted in a corner, from which play eventually went on to Madine whose lob towards goal was flicked wide of the near-post by James Chester. Bang on the half-hour mark and Marshall ran in at pace well from the right, but sadly for the Blues his well hit 20-yard shot pinged away off the base of the near-post. Marshall though injured in that incident as he had to limp off with a dead leg shortly afterwards.
His replacement Paul Thirlwell was quickly in the action as he played in Matty Robson for a cross which Madine headed straight into the arms of a grateful Alex Smithies from ten yards out. The last action of the first-half coming the way of Huddersfield however when Afobe was once more unable to get on the end of a low cross into the Cumbrians box after some good approach play by Lee and Novak.
After the interval and the visitors started well when Novak's well-hit volley from a Gudjonsson cross in was blocked away by Thirlwell. United then responding in the 53rd minute when former Town man Berrett drove well wide of the target from distance. Blues right-back Frank Simek then hammering a cross-shot past the body of Collin and numerous players in the Carlisle box, but also inches past the far-post.
Both sides made a change in personnel just before the hour-mark before the Terriers went close when Chester had to clear a Gudjonsson cross off the line for a corner, from which Nathan Clarke crashed a shot off the underside of the crossbar, Lubomir Michalik then conceding another flag-kick, but this time Novak headed wide. It was 2-0 to Huddersfield in the 63rd minute though after some poor defending in the Cumbrians back-line.
Liam Ridehalgh's ball into the Carlisle box seeing Chester make a poor attempted clearance, which allowed, via Novak, Scott Arfield, in the middle of the 'D', to curl a sweet finish past Collin and into the far corner of the United net. A Madine header then being blocked by Peter Clarke before the Blues did drag themselves back into the game with a 71st minute goal, unmarked substitute Francois Zoko, after a flick-on from Madine on a Simek cross, heading in from almost on Smithies' goal-line.
Jordan Rhodes then came on for Afobe for Town, with Rhodes just failing to reach a Novak cross with almost his first touch of the ball. United then made their third and final change of the game as youngster Ryan Bowman replaced the ineffective Grella, with Bowman straight into the action as he flicked on Zoko's cross into the middle of the Huddersfield penalty area for Berrett to get a header in which was well parried away to his left by a diving Smithies.
Carlisle did pull it back to 2-2 on 82 minutes though after Smithies had pushed a Madine header from a Simek cross behind, Smithies though powerless to stop Chester, six yards out, thumping a header low into the net from Berrett's resultant corner. Chester then looking to get on the scoresheet again moments later but this time he pulled his long range shot wide of the far-post with Smithies looking in a good position to make an easy save anyway.
Huddersfield, after spending a long spell in the game looking to hang on to their lead, then tried to regain it a minute from time when Novak and Rhodes combined nicely to set up Arfield for a shot which the former Falkirk man could only scoop over the top from 15 yards out. The last chance for either side to get three points coming the way of the Blues in injury time when Simek cut in on his left foot only to slice his shot from the edge of the box wide of the far-post.