No-one would argue with manager Greg Abbott when he said his Carlisle team could have had the game won in the first 20 minutes. They created all sorts of danger down the right where Cleveland Taylor was at his tantalising best but, as the winger faded, so Yeovil began to take over and win more of the midfield battles.
However, it was against the run of play when they took the lead in the 31st minute. Danny Schofield and Gavin Tomlin combined to feed Paul Warne to flick on to Gary Roberts, who slid the ball past goalkeeper Ben Williams from eight yards. Carlisle were stung into action and could have equalised within a minute when a terrific 30-yard drive by Paul Thirlwell flashed wide.
The second half saw both teams have periods of dominance, although the Yeovil keeper Josh Wagenaar had much more to do than his opposite number. Williams had one anxious moment when he juggled a back-pass and finally cleared with an overhead kick, but there were no more clear chances for Yeovil and it was at the other end where there was most threat.
In the 77th minute the impressive Graham Kavanagh brought a terrific diving save from Wagenaar from 25 yards. However, the Canadian international keeper probably has to take some of the blame for that late leveller. Bridges, who came on in the 79th minute, picked up a partial clearance and seized on the ball to hammer a 25-yard drive under the keeper's diving body.