With the news coming through before the game that centre-half Danny Livesey is now missing in action for six to eight weeks with a groin injury, it meant a reshuffle in the Blues first-half back four prior to kick-off. Paul Thirlwell moving into the middle of defence, while youth team skipper Steven Swinglehurst featured at left-back, with the rest of the opening period starting eleven lining up as follows :
Gary Madine - Craig Curran
Billy Gibson - James Berrett - Marc B-Wilkinson - Kevan Hurst
Steven Swinglehurst - Ian Harte - Paul Thirlwell (c) - Frankie Simek
Adam Collin
Kicking down the slope, with incessant heavy drizzle coming across the pitch for the duration of the game, Kendal flashed a shot over on five minutes through Lee Mulvaney before five minutes later George Melling's unmarked header from a corner had to be hacked away from the Carlisle six-yard box.
It was the Blues who took the lead on 15 minutes though when Gibson and Hurst worked a short corner which found Bridge-Wilkinson for a shot from the edge of the area which pinged back out off the body of Town keeper David Newnes, Madine then well placed to push home the rebound with a toe-poked effort from the middle of the box.
Four minutes later and Curran intercepted a weak Kendal back-pass, but after rounding Newnes his shot was weak too and Melling was easily able to run the ball away from danger. Carlisle then going close again just before the half-hour mark when the impressive Madine, from a Simek cross, had a back-post header well saved by the diving Newnes.
On 35 minutes Hurst cut in from the right at pace only to fire poorly left-footed and wide of the near-post from 18 yards out. Hurst then turning provider two minutes later when his corner in was met by the onrushing Madine for a mid-range bullet header that was once more well kept out by Town stopper Newnes.
United did have the scoreline at half-time at 2-0 though when in the 39th minute, Bridge-Wilkinson - who had an excellent 45 minutes in a playmaking role as he sprayed the ball around on the floor - found Curran down the right-hand channel. Curran then from 15 yards out pushing a well-placed shot across the body of Newnes and into the far corner of the Kendal net.
With 24 players available, including Swinglehurst and then the four trialists in Gibson, Patrick Cregg, Jake Simpson and Francois Zoko, it was young strike duo Ryan Bowman and Andy Cook who missed out on the action with Carlisle lining up for kick-off in the second-half with a brand new starting eleven as follows :
Jason Price - Francois Zoko
Matty Robson - Patrick Cregg - Tom Taiwo - Jake Simpson
Sean McDaid - Graham Kavanagh - Peter Murphy (c) - Tony Kane
Mark Gillespie
Kendal also made a couple of changes during the interval, and then a good few more around the half-way point in the game which meant a weakened line-up for them later in the game, and that led to a largely uneventful start to the second period with very little happening bar some pacey bursts down the left from Robson for United.
Infact there was only really one chance up until 70 minutes and that came 15 minutes earlier when Price laid possession off to Cregg for a clear run in on Newnes. Cregg couldn't really make up his mind what to do though and his soft left-footed shot was easily saved by the Town goalkeeper, Newnes then making another follow up stop on McDaid's effort as the Blues left-back ran in on the rebound.
There was a slightly harsh booking at the midway point in the half from referee Alan Young for Town right-back Kieran Walmsley after he brought down Robson on the left. Robson then three minutes later, from a pass by emergency centre-half Kavanagh, cutting in off his wing at light speed before firing an 18-yard shot weakly straight into the gloves of young Town substitute goalkeeper Tom Newton.
Carlisle's third goal of the game did come on 73 minutes though when Taiwo's ball on the floor down the middle found Zoko all alone with the Kendal centre-halves having seemingly gone completely AWOL. Zoko then striding on before toe-poking a right-footed shot past Newton and low into the corner of the Town net from 18 yards out.
Zoko was then involved again in the 76th minute as United made it 4-0, his long diagonal ball reaching Robson over on the left who took a quick touch and run to the by-line before knocking a low cross along the six-yard box. Price then on hand to push the ball home with his left boot off the body of the sprawling and unguarded Newton.
The home side did pull a goal back after 79 minutes though when Dave Foster set up Alex Taylor for a shot from the middle of the Carlisle 'D'. Taylor's effort from there seemingly taking a slight nick off a United leg, with Gillespie, who got a strong hand on it, just unable to stop it from hitting the bottom corner of his net.
Taiwo then tried a chipped shot for the Blues moments later which drifted softly wide, before Robson in the 84th minute lashed a shot over the top from 20 yards out. The scoring was over for the evening though with Carlisle now heading off to Workington on Tuesday night for their next pre-season outing, with hopefully some better weather in store.
Kendal Town :
David Newnes (Tom Newton 64), Kieran Walmsley, Callum Warburton (Martin Grundy 46), George Melling (Fleming 61), Rory Winters, Paul Osbourne, Lee Mulvaney (Shaun Gardner 64), Ian Kilford (Jordan Tucker 46), David Foster, Peter Wright (Alex Taylor 64), Danny Wisdom.
Attendance - 809.
Referee - Alan Young.
Pre-Season Results 2010-11 : Click here