Town fans’ pneumatic friends brightened up a disappointing afternoon at Gillford Park where the Ally Army made up around half of the attendance. It was finely balanced until City plundered the lead in first-half injury time, but thereafter the visitors failed to ask enough questions of the home defence.

Manager Jamie Poole made two changes from the side that had done so well to beat Thornaby in midweek, James Boucher returning in place of the unavailable Dale Hopson and Joe Kitching replacing the injured James Coatsworth.

Carlisle’s Robert McCartney hit a post midway through the first half but neither side looked like grabbing the game by the scruff of the neck at this stage of the extra preliminary round tie. Ben Fairless dealt comfortably with everything Carlisle could throw at him and at the other end sole striker Harry Healy had a couple of half-chances.

That changed in the first minute of stoppage time when Town failed to deal with a right-wing corner. When the ball came into the box, Jordan Little was left free to power a header into the net.

The visitors were left to chase the game and tried their hardest to get back on terms. But with key players missing again, it became an uphill task.

Carlisle put the game out of Town’s reach with a second goal, scored by Jordan Irving, seven minutes from the end.

Carlisle City: A Taylor, Gordon, Olsen, Simpson (Bell 78), Little, Walker, Irving, Holt, Kerr, McCartney, Tedford.

Northallerton Town: Fairless, Beasley, Myers, Boucher, Tomlinson (Mason 62), Litttlefair, Stapley (Khadir 75), Sartini, Healy (S Taylor 82), Kitching, Martin (Townsend 68).

Sub not used: Poole.