Walsall took the lead with  two minutes on the board. It was the perfect start for the travelling Saddlers fans, some who were in fancy dress and had let off dozens of yellow balloons as the players came out. Carlisle were stunned by this surprise goal but a few minutes later Manny Smith had to react quickly to block a shot from Gary Madine.

There was further cause for concern for the Carlisle defence when Byfield pounced on a mistake by Keogh but the ball didn't run kindly for him. Rene Gilmartin made a save from Horwood and Troy Deeney tried a shot from some distance but it was the home side who were making most of the running by now as Marshall tried a shot that Gilmartin had to save and the same player went close soon afterwards with a header. Carlisle got back into the game on 28 minutes when following a flick on from the impressive Madine, Jason Price raced forward and beat Gilmartin from inside the box. Both sides struggled towards the end of the first half and for Walsall it was another case of a bright start to an away game where they then lost their way a little.

Saddlers made an enforced substitution at half time with skipper Mark Hughes replacing Clayton Mc Donald who had taken a knock and could not continue. Five minutes after the restart Manny Smith and Jason Price received yellow cards after they had squared up to each other and were given a good talking to by the referee. Byfield went close with one effort following good link up play with Deeney. Byfield again wasted a chance when he burst down the middle but instead of keeping it simple and passing to an unmarked Deeney he went for glory himself and produced a shot which Collin collected at the second attempt.

There was a real chance on 75 mins when Gray sent over a perfect ball for Matt Richards to head home but he got under the ball and headed over from six yards. Price, who was starting to lose his rag, was replaced by Richard Bowman and later Peter Till came on for Steve Jones. Walsall's Gray and Carlisle's Keogh were booked as they got involved in some nonsense but chances for both sides were rare and the game ended tamely. The referee surprisingly only added one minute's time added on. He was perhaps expecting a pitch invasion and seemed to be talking to the players advising them of his intentions. With the bookings, lectures and substitutions three or four minutes would have seemed right.