Greg Abbott took charge of his first game as United manager and resurrected the Garner / Graham strikeforce that had been successful towards the end of last season.

Paul Arnison kept his starting place (making his 100th start for the club) as Peter Murphy continued his recovery from a troublesome ankle injury. Danny Livesey, also making his 100th start, continued his partnership with David Raven at the heart of the defence.

A tight start saw little in the way of openings at either end with a Joe Garner break in to the box in the 3rd minute being the only incident of early note.

That was to change in the 5th minute, however, when Paul Thirlwell showed some superb skill in midfield to shake off his marker. He spotted Kev Gall on a run through the middle, and picked him out with a beautiful pass. The United forward took it in to his stride with a neat first touch and forced a magnificent save out of Provett as he tried to thunder it in to the back of the net, beyond the advancing keeper, from 17 yards out.

The Shakers responded with a foray down the United right, but Livesey and Raven were on hand to cut out the crosses as they were delivered in to the area.

Wonderful football in the 9th minute carved Bury open as Thirlwell and Smith interlinked in midfield. An intelligent run from Aranalde took him clear on the overlap, and his deep cross was met by a stretching Kev Gall, who couldn't keep his 8 yard header down as he sent it over the bar.

More excellent football led to a goal for Carlisle as Gall found himself with space out on the right. He moved forward, holding play up, before knocking a short pass back in to the path of Paul Arnison. His first time cross caught Bury trying to play the offside trap, and three United players were on hand and waiting for the ball to drop. Danny Graham showed first and he notched his 8th goal in 13 first team appearances with a deft header in to the top corner.

The Shakers created their first chance of the evening in the 17th minute when Challinor picked up a throw in and whisked a curling cross towards the back post. James Dean was there to greet it, but his header lacked any kind of direction and angled well wide in the end.

It was a better spell for Bury, and a Barry-Murphy corner in the 20th minute was flicked across the face of goal by Challinor. There were plenty of white shirts in the box, but none of them had anticipated the move and the ball spun harmlesly away.

United moved quickly to assert themselves once more and the Gall / Arnison combination came in to play again in the 22nd minute with another slick move down the wing. Futcher got a toe end to the cross, and Danny Graham was unfortunate as he tried to take it under his control, only to see Futcher recover and swipe the ball clear.

The flowing football was coming from the visitors and they demonstrated their ability with the ball once more on the half hour when the triangle down the left hand side, involving Graham, Aranalde and Smith, exchanged passes and sucked defenders towards the ball. Bridge-Wilkinson was in acres of space, and he opted for a 27 yard piledriver that Provett had to tip over the bar. Somehow the officials missed the save and signalled the goal kick.

Glynn Hurst fluffed the opportunity of a free volley towards goal in the 33rd minute when the ball looped towards him in a very advanced area. His eyes lit up, but he scuffed his effort. Adams then sent a wild shot in to the crowd after good covering work from Westwood had brought a Bury break to an end.

United were denied another clear corner in their next attack when Garner won a Smith free kick that was bent towards the back post. Challinor put it behind, but the man in the middle chose to ignore the pleas of the Carlisle crowd behind the goal.

The Cumbrians were nearly caught out at a long throw in the 38th minute when Dean flicked it on in to the area. Raven did well to get to it as Futcher and Hurst ran in to apply the decisive touch.

Danny Livesey got too much on a Smith free kick in the 40th minute as United continued to dominate, and Graham won a corner when he zipped a low cross across the face of goal. Jeff Smith was on to the half clearance, knocking it back over, and Gall blasted a half volley over when Provett punched it in to his path.

A string of corners and crosses just before half time ended when Joe Garner got there first, heading over the keeper but also the bar.

Half Time: Bury 0 - 1 United

United started the second half with another great move down the left wing when Garner nicked a short pass in between two players for Smith to race on to. He took it to the goal line, but a sliding challenge from Parrish was enough to put him off.

A loose pass from Aranalde gave Bury a brief sight of goal, but Arnison covered well and chested the cross down for Westwood to gather.

It was a much less productive opening to the half as the game became bogged down in midfield, but Garner missed a fantastic opportunity to double the lead in the 62nd minute when Carlisle flooded forward with the ball. Gall spotted the young striker with a defence splitting pass, but his first touch took him too close to the keeper. A strong challenge brought the ball back out in to the open, and Garner set himself before thundering his 8 yard shot against the bar.

The introduction of Andy Bishop seemed to raise the spirits of the home crowd and his tussling in the Carlisle area nearly opened things up for Adams, but Arnison got his challenge in just in time. At the other end Aranalde brought a low, left handed save out of Provett with a stinging 23 yard shot that skidded off the surface and required a strong wrist from the big stopper.

Bury were left looking at each other in despair in the 73rd minute when Futcher won a free header and nodded it out towards Mangan. He had plenty of time, but his volley, from 7 yards out, was weak and lacked any kind of direction.

Paul Scott had a shot blocked in the 78th minute after some prolonged head tennis in the Cumbrians area, as the red shirts struggled to clear their lines, with Bridge-Wilkinson throwing everything at the ball to stop the effort.

Carlisle had to defend in numbers in the closing stages with the Shakers throwing bodies forward but it was all very desperate stuff with little in the way of craft.

United had a couple of late breaks themselves, including a deflected 23 yarder from Hackney in time added on, but they had to survive a real scare in the 93rd minute when Westwood was pushed in to the back of his net as he tried to claim a looping ball. The Ref blew for a foul, and Greg Abbott's men held on to claim their place in Round Two of the Carling Cup.

Goals

United - Graham (12)

Bookings

Bury - Challinor (43), Barry-Murphy (45), Baker (90), Futcher (90)

United - Hackney (88)

Teams 

Bury - Provett, Scott, Buchanan, Challinor, Futcher, Morgan, Barry-Murphy (Baker 73), Dean (Bishop 65), Adams, Hurst (Mangan 56), Parrish. Subs - Richardson, Haslam.

United - Westwood, Arnison, Raven, Livesey, Aranalde, Gall, Bridge-WIlkinson, Thirlwell, Smith (Hackney 71), Garner (Carlton 88), Graham. Subs - Howarth, Lumsdon, Brittain. 

Away fans - 561