The less said about the first half the better in my opinion, even though the opening 45 minutes started brightly enough as Carlisle won the first corner of the match in the 2nd minute, which was easily cleared, which led to a strong run forward from Garry as he covered half the pitch. His surge forward eventually led to a Cherries corner (3rd min), which also came to nothing.
A few minutes later, a long clearance from Jalal was knocked on by Bartley, finding Pugh whose cross found the United keeper wanting, and flapping at his near post. The resulting corner was wasted.
Carlisle had a moments excitement as they appealed for a penalty, but the ref was not the least bit interested.
The best move (for either side) came in the 18th minute when a corner from the left saw Feeney step over, leaving it for McQuoid to rifle in a shot, which saw the keeper tip the goal bound ball over for a corner.
The rest of the first half was dominated by the midfields, but both sides cancelled each other out.
HT: 0-0
The second half saw Cooper replaced with Symes. The change in formation from 4-1-4-1 to 4-4-2 made an immediate difference with the Cherries kicking towards the North Stand. In the 48th minute the Cherries won a corner following a surging charge forward from Feeney. Pugh swung the corner in from the right hand side to find Garry to head from close range.
Bouyed up by the goal the Cherries started to dominate proceedings, with chances being created. Feeney managed to miss the target by some distance when it seemed easier to get the ball on target. Thankfully the miss didn't prove costly.
In the 64th minute, Cherries persistence paid off when loanee Smith was upended in the penalty area, leaving the ref no choice BUT award a penalty, which was duely dispatched by Symes, who fired left as the keeper dived right.
Pugh had a gilt edged chance to extend the lead to 3, but saw the ball go just wide of the left hand upright following excellent build up. Also seeing a chance go begging was Symes when he seemed to be clear through on goal, but fluffed the chance when presented.
Overall, the second half performance from the Cherries meant that they were good value, eventually, for the win.
Jalal: Had nothing to do apart from some catching practice.
Smith: An impressive debut for someone so young.
Garry & Pearce: A rock solid performance from both of our central defenders.
Wiggins: Played well, some good runs down the left.
Cooper: Did well in the first half.
Feeney: Caused problems down the right.
Bartley: Covered EVERY blade of grass on the pitch - very impressive and my man of the match for the amazing level of work
Robinson: Had a quiet game, but did more than enough to keep the Carlisle midfield at bay
Pugh: His trickery didn't quite work as we've seen in past weeks, but his slight of foot will give many a headache this season
McQuoid: Held the front line well despite not scoring
Symes: Made a huge difference when he came on at half time, giving another outlet up front.
Fletcher/Cummings: Didn't have time to impress or do anything when they came on right at the end.
AFCB: Jalal, Smith, Garry, Pearce, Wiggins, Cooper, Feeney, Bartley, Robinson, Pugh, McQuoid
Subs: Stewart, Arter, Hollands, Bradbury, Symes (for Cooper, HT), Fletcher (for Feeney, 91 mins), Cummings (for Pugh, 93 mins)
Andy Burton, Portsmouth