Keiren Westwood will rightly take the plaudits for what was a goalkeeping masterclass at the County Ground on Saturday, with one series of saves, during a frenetic first half spell, that brought a standing ovation from home and away fans alike.

John Ward said after the game: "At half time, every player in that dressing room congratulated Keiren for what he had done during the first half, as he was superb. However, we all agreed that we did not want to put him in that position again, and we started to demand more ourselves, particularly going forward."

The afternoon was a busy one for Westwood, and he was in action as early as the fifth minute when McNamee spun away from Raven and delivered an early cross. The ball spun off the top of his boot, and the big United keeper had to backtrack quickly to push it away from underneath his bar.

On-loan Fulham midfielder Mike Timlin was on hand to pounce at the corner, but his stinging drive was deflected off Livesey, and it bounced up comfortably for the Carlisle keeper to gather.

Cleveland Taylor signalled that United could be a threat as an attacking force on 11 minutes when he broke down the right and delivered an early cross. Aljofree stretched to clear it, as Graham strode in behind him, and he was relieved to see his header fly right at Brezovan, who was able to pluck it in to his chest.

Sturrock and Easton dragged weak shots wide at the other end, as the Robins began to build up a head of steam, and McGovern was guilty of the same crime when he raced on to a McNamee cross that was half cleared to the edge of the United area.

Swindon had settled well, and Dave Raven somehow blocked a Cox shot in the 28th minute, that had goal written all over it, as the tricky McNamee continued to prove to be a thorn in the side for the right hand side of the Carlisle defence.

Westwood was at his best in the 31st minute when Peter Murphy found himself two against one with Sturrock and Cox. The latter broke in to the box and, one against one with the keeper, crunched a low shot towards the far corner. A sprawling save rebounded only as far as Sturrock, and he thought he'd scored the first of the game with a crisp volley that had goal written all over it. The United keeper had other ideas though, and put his body in the way, having recovered quickly from his intial block. Easton was next to have a go, pushing Livesey out of the way to poke a powerful shot through the bodies, only to find that the Carlisle stopper had set himself once more. Another full length dive took the power out of the shot, and it was pats on the back all round as he triumphantly lay on top of the ball.

Blair Sturrock found himself one on one with Westwood again just five minutes later, but the United stopper won the battle of the wills with another excellent save as he got down low to block the shot with his legs.

The Cumbrians managed to calm things down and they went close themselves just before the break when Cleveland Taylor controlled the ball on his chest, with his back to goal. He lobbed a cross in to the area, over his own head, and Danny Graham pushed Ifil out of the way, but couldn't keep his header down, sending it on to the roof of the net.

Half Time: Robins 0 - 0 United

Swindon came out of the blocks quickly following the break, and a McNamee cross had Westwood worried at his near post. He managed to tip it away from Sturrock, but Easton was lurking on the penalty spot. His eyes lit up, only for Livesey to get across sharply and put his body in the way of the volley.

Cleveland Taylor spotted Brezovan creeping off his line in the 52nd minute, and he tried to catch the keeper unawares with a near post shot that had the keeper scrambling. It flew in to the side netting, with the Robins stopper shrugging his shoulders at the querying looks from his own defenders.

Having weathered the storm Carlisle took the lead in the 54th minute when former Swindon man Grant Smith went forward in support of a left wing foray from Hackney. His clipped left-footed cross was inch perfect for Bridge-Wilkinson, who glanced his header home from just 7 yards out.

Timlin went in search of the equaliser in the 57th minute when he ran on to a great pass from McGovern and skipped past the advancing Keiren Westwood. His first touch took him wide, though, and could only find the outside of the post, from a very tight angle, with his attempted pull-back.

Evan Horwood was next to put his body on the line for the cause when he blocked a Timlin shot, on the line, with Westwood out of the equation having executed another excellent parried save. The relief was short lived, however, as McGovern sent his corner in to the mix at the second attempt. Cox had the first of his rasping volleys cleared off the line by Murphy, but he was well placed to finish the second, pulling his side level just seven minutes after they went behind.

The Robins were in the ascendency, and Timlin brought another fantastic save from Westwood in the 65th minute when he whipped a 20-yard free kick towards the top corner. The United stopper had positioned himself well, and clawed it out from under his bar and away for a corner.

Danny Livesey blazed a half volley over the bar in the 77th minute, when he failed to control a Muprhy flick on from a Hackney corner, and the miss sparked a route one move that would prove to be the undoing of the visitors. Brezovan launched a huge kick towards the Carlisle half and Sturrock muscled Murphy out of the way, getting on to the bounce before smashing it in to the waiting net.

Peter Murphy turned from villain to hero almost immediately when he rose to greet a Hackney corner, with just 4 minutes left to play, burying it beneath Brezovan to level the scores.

United sat deep following the equaliser, and played time out in comfort as they laid claim to a valuable point from a very tough away encounter.

Goals

Robins - Cox (61), Sturrock (80)

United - Bridge-Wilkinson (54), Murphy (86)

Bookings

Robins - McGovern (76)

Teams

Robins - Brezovan, J Smith, Ifil, Easton, McGovern, Comminges, Aljofree, Timlin, Sturrock (Ashikodi 89), McNamee, Cox. Subs - P Smith, Zaaboub, Nicholas, Morrison.

United - Westwood, Raven, Livesey, Murphy, Horwood, Taylor (Carlton 73), Bridge-Wilkinson, Lumsdon, G Smith (Joyce 68), Hackney (Arnison 90), Graham. Subs - Howarth, Madine.

Away fans - tbc