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With a full squad to choose from Blues boss Neil McDonald sent out the same starting line-up for the fourth game in a row. United's eleven again being Keiren Westwood, David Raven, Zigor Aranalde, Peter Murphy, Kevin Gray, Chris Billy, Chris Lumsdon, Paul Murray, Michael Bridges, Karl Hawley and Kevin Gall in a 4-3-3 formation. With Anthony Williams, Paul Arnison, Derek Holmes, Simon Hackney and Neale McDermott making up the substitutes bench.
It was a fairly quiet first-half to be fair, although Carlisle were pretty much on top throughout against an Orient side that looked a shadow of the team that had won 3-2 in convincing fashion at Brunton Park last season. Play was limited to a couple of crosses at either end in the early stages, Raven sending a ball into the O's side-netting while Matt Lockwood get a couple of good centres in for the visitors, with Murphy being forced to head one away for a corner.
After five minutes new Orient signing Clayton Fortune did perhaps his only good thing of the afternoon when he cleared a Hawley-bound cross by Gall away. Sixty seconds later, referee Scott Mathieson from Stockport, who wasn't in my good books last year after Cheltenham's 217th minute equaliser, had words with Bridges and O's midfielder Craig Easton after the two had clashed in a tackle and then squared up for battle in the centre-circle.
With 12 minutes gone visiting keeper Glyn Garner punched a long Aranalde throw straight out to Murray 20 yards out, the United midfielder firing his half-volley straight back into the grateful arms of Garner. Three minutes later it was Bridges' turn to get a curling shot in which was deflected out for a corner, then shortly afterwards Bridges and Gall combined from an Aranalde long throw, which we seemed to have a lot of in the first half, to set up Lumsdon. United's playmaker being desperately unlucky to see Garner make an excellent save as he got across to tip Lumsdon's 18-yard half-volley over the angle of his own post and bar.
On 20 minutes Murray sent a low cross from a tight angle straight at Garner but it felt like a goal was coming for the home side and it finally did in the 24th minute through the pace of Gall. An Orient move forward broke down with Hawley then heading the ball into the feet of Bridges for the ex-Sunderland man to play an inch-perfect pass through the O's retreating defence to Gall down the left flank. Gall's speed took him flying into the distance away from right-back Adam Tann before he coolly opened his body up to sidefoot the ball past Garner and into the far corner with his right foot from 15 yards out.
Sixty seconds later livewire Gall fired into the side-netting from a Lumsdon pass, then another minute on United skipper Gray had to give in to a nasty looking rib problem received a few minutes earlier, Arnison coming on replace him. Unlike Chesterfield though where Arnison had slotted in to the left-back spot with Aranalde going to centre-half, this time Arnison went straight into his usual right-back spot with Raven moving into the middle. And how much better did Raven look at centre-half than right-back by the way?, he certainly looks to be a lot better in the middle of the defence that's for sure.
Shortly afterwards the more-than-grumpy Easton was booked following a bad tackle on Murray, then on 28 minutes Lumsdon's deep free-kick saw Murphy's header at the back-post well blocked by Garner, Hawley then unable to control the rebound. Six minutes later the Orient front two combined well for the first time in the match after Lee Steele had robbed Murphy and set up Gary Alexander, ex-West Ham man Alexander hammering in a powerful 25-yarder which whistled inches wide of Westwood's far-post.
The O's were having a better spell in the game now and on 37 minutes Westwood was forced into action to make a smart save with his legs from Joe Keith's ten yard effort, after Steele had flicked the ball around the legs of Murphy for his team-mate to run onto. Shortly afterwards came the second and final booking of the game as pantomine villian Alexander was yellow-carded for a late tackle on Bridges, although the United striker certainly made the most of the foul.
On 39 minutes Hawley was a little bit selfish as he fired high and wide from distance with Gall well placed for a pass, then up at the other end Murphy had to be on the ball to hack away a low cross in by O's left-back Lockwood. Hawley was again trying to get his first goal of the season in the 44th minute only to see Garner save his low 25-yard shot, then almost immediately afterwards Steele fired well over Westwood's crossbar from 18 yards out. The half ended with Lumsdon curling a shot from just outside the Orient box straight at Garner, and the two sides went back down the tunnel with the Blues holding a deserved 1-0 lead.
United came out strongly after the break and they got the first shot of the second period in almost immediately after the restart, it was an ambitious effort by Bridges from 30 yards out though and it went straight at Garner. Bridges was caught offside seconds later as the Cumbrians looked to claim a second goal, the decision highlighting the farcical new rule of offside not being given until the "interfering" player touches the ball. It's a rule that makes a forward chase a pass 30 or 40 yards for no reason, wastes time and leaves fans and players unsure of whether it's actually offside or not. It needs changing sharpish and surely it's time to just go back to the offside rule as it was, if you are offside you are offside regardless of where you are.
Anyway, the second goal wasn't long in coming for Carlisle and it was that man Gall who set up Hawley for his opening goal of the season in the 49th minute with an excellent piece of skill. Gall ran in across the face of the Orient defence from the left past Tann and Fortune before releasing Hawley into the O's box with a fantastic blind backheel between Fortune and skipper John Mackie. Hawley running in with Fortune lolloping behind him and keeping his cool to sidefoot the ball home into the corner past Garner from 12 yards out.
Pretty much straight from the kick-off the Blues were almost 3-0 up when Hawley got on the end of an Aranalde cross in but he could only send his flicked header just wide of Garner's far post. In the 55th minute, as United were completely in control of the game against a shellshocked Orient side who were being overrun by a three-man midfield, Billy sent Gall racing onto a pass through the middle, only for Fortune to force him wide of the O's goal and eventually concede a throw-in to Carlisle.
It was 3-0 in the 59th minute though as Gall bagged his second goal of the game after Paul Murray made a fantastic tackle in the middle of the pitch to send the ball into the path of Bridges. The ex-Leeds man playing a slide-rule pass between the once more static Mackie and Fortune for Gall to fly into the distance on and roll the ball past the advancing Garner and into the Orient net from 12 yards out as the rain began to pelt down onto the immaculate Brunton Park pitch.
Amazingly it should have been 4-0 to Carlisle two minutes later after they won a penalty and Gall stepped up to try and take the plaudits for a hat-trick. Hawley got away in the Orient box down the left-hand channel only to be upended near the by-line by a desperate challenge from Mackie, with referee Mathieson having no hesitation in pointing to the spot. A bit of a spat for penalty taking duties ensued between Bridges, Lumdson and Gall before the ex-Yeovil man won the argument, his spot-kick wasn't as good as his arguing though as it was a lovely height for Garner to push around his left-hand post for a corner.
Apparently Bridges is now the recognised penalty taker for the Blues so he really should have taken it, regardless of Gall being on a hat-trick or not, and to be honest it was a bit of a turning point in the game as Orient bossed the match from then on. In the 63rd minute Lockwood curled a 25-yard free-kick well over the Cumbrians bar then sixty seconds later O's boss Martin Ling went for broke with a triple substitution, Donny Barnard, Wayne Corden and usual Blues nemesis Jabo Ibehre coming on for Tann, Keith and Alexander respectively.
The missed penalty and the personnel changes seemed to give the visitors a renewed sense of confidence and they ensured it would be a nervy last 22 minutes for the Brunton Park faithful when they pulled a goal back in the 68th minute. Raven making his only mistake of the day in his new centre-half spot as he allowed Steele to sneak off the back of him from a Corden cross in from the left, Westwood managed to get a hand to Steele's flicked header from six yards out but the United keeper was powerless to stop the ball going in from such close range.
Moments later Bridges could have restored the three goal Carlisle cushion after good work by Gall down the left, but he could only lift his effort over the Orient bar from just eight yards out. United boss Neil McDonald immediately making a change from there as he brought on McDermott for Lumsdon. The O's were right at it now though and Corden pinged in a dangerous cross from the left which Ibehre inexplicably missed with his right boot as the net looked welcoming for him, the visitors frontman heading over this time from a Corden right-wing cross in the 75th minute.
Corden had a shooting chance himself in the 77th minute after Shane Tudor had stuck a good ball in from the left, but the visitors substitute sliced his effort miles wide of Westwood's goal. The Cumbrians soon mounted an attack of their own though when Billy and Murray worked together to set up Hawley, only for the United striker to see his shot blocked by Fortune. Holmes came on in place of the tiring Bridges in the 79th minute but it was quickly back to the O's looking to make it 3-2 however in the 80th minute, Barnard seeing Westwood make a sharp save from his curling effort from just outside the United box.
The Blues went close in the 85th minute after Murray had beaten two defenders following a McDermott ball to him, after doing all the hard work though he could only fire into Garner's side-netting from a tight angle. The period of panic for United fans and players alike was over now though as the clock ticked down to the three minutes of injury time allotted, most of that time coming after Mackie had fallen awkwardly and turned his ankle near the end of the game. The last chance of another goal in the match came just before the final whistle when Holmes's 12-yard effort, following another Gall break, was parried out for a corner by Garner at his near-post.
Post-match quotes :
Carlisle manager Neil McDonald side-stepped the post match interview to supervise the players' warm down session, leaving first team coach Greg Abbott to explain how well the team played :