John Ward kept faith with his starting line-up in the wake of the televised away win at automatic promotion hopefuls Nottingham Forest on Monday night, with youngster Gary Madine retaining his place on the bench at the expense of Scott Dobie, who was suffering from a lingering virus.

United started well, without creating anything in front of goal, and it was Glenn Murray who created the first real opening when he controlled the ball before spinning away from Lumsdon and Murphy. With a clear sight at goal ahead of him he shot early, sending it wide of the upright from distance.

Bridge-Wilkinson showed a good touch on the ball in the 8th minute when he dropped a shoulder and raced clear in midfield. The Seagulls sat deep so he went for a curler off the outside of his boot, and was unlucky to see it spin just wide of the angle of the post and bar.

Simon Hackney made space for the cross in the 13th minute when he received a neat pass from Bridge-Wilkinson on the touchline. Grant Smith was inches away from making the cross his own, but it dropped over his head and sat nicely for Graham. His rasping shot was heading for the roof of the net, but Kuipers did well to get a full hand on to it and pushed it over the bar.

The game settled in to a pattern of United pressing onwards with Brighton getting forward on the break whenever the chance arose. Westwood had to get down to block a Murray shot in the 26th minute, when Westlake played him through with a defence splitting pass, and the moment reminded everyone that the visitors were a team in form and who had plenty of danger in their side.

The wintry conditions made flowing football difficult but Horwood picked a nice, deep cross in the 32nd minute, aiming it towards the timely runs of Graham and Taylor. The wide man got there, but he couldn't keep his header down and it went well wide in the end.

Brighton should have taken the lead in the 34th minute when Martot whipped a shot in, through the bodies, catching Westwood unawares. It bounced free off the keeper's chest, and Murray was there with the width of the goal to aim at. Throwing his leg at it, he watched in horror as it ballooned up off his boot and crashed away to safety off the woodwork.

The Cumbrians immediately punished the miss when Horwood fed Hackney from a quick free kick. His cross had the defenders scrambling, and Danny Graham marked his 50th appearance for the club in style as he turned away in celebration, claiming his fifth goal from the last six games, and leaving Kuipers with no chance.

Mr Pike had a big decision to make in the 40th minute when Glenn Murray went up against Peter Murphy in the box. The Carlisle central defender made his challenge, and the official waved play on as Murray hit the floor.

Graham had a shot blocked in the 41st minute, following good work from Bridge-Wilkinson, and there were blue shirts everywhere as the confidence of the goal inspired the home side to get forward. El Abd eventually got it away for a corner, under pressure from Hackney.

United finished strongly, with a run and cross from Taylor that had the Brighton back line stretched, and the visitors responded with a long range shot from Forster that was never troubling the nets. Ian Westlake put one right at Westwood in the closing moments of the half, and the Cumbrians went in to the break with a deserved lead to build on.

Half Time: United 1 - 0 Brighton

Brighton came out for the second half clearly determined to give a better account of themselves, and an early Tommy Fraser shot came from a period of sustained pressure from the visitors.

Glenn Murray was lurking and waiting to poke the ball home in the 51st minute as United allowed Brighton to work the ball forward, but Evan Horwood executed an inch perfect tackle to deny him the opportunity, sending it behind for a corner.

Danny Graham tried a snapshot in the 53rd minute, when Bridge-Wilkinson floated a cross towards him, but his volley was weak as the ball swirled around in the wind. Martot did the same at the other end, picking out Westwood with his effort, as both sides tried to get the all important next goal.

Simon Hackney thundered a 25 yarder in to the Waterworks when he pounced on a midfield tackle from Lumsdon, and Graham misjudged a Bridge-Wilkinson cross, that dropped over his head, as things started to look up for Carlisle.

The Cumbrians doubled their lead in the 59th minute when Peter Murphy and Chris Lumsdon were there to rescue a deep corner, putting it back in to the mix. Danny Livesey was on hand to turn on the ball, and smash it in to the net, putting the club within touching distance of a twelfth consecutive League home win.

Westlake took it wide in the 63rd minute, and clipped a nice cross towards Glenn Murray, who was getting in to good positions in the box. He rose to meet the header, but could only find the top of the net as he struggled to keep it down.

Grant Smith has been threatening to score since coming in to the side, and he came close again in the 70th minute with an instinctive volley from the edge of the box that Kuipers had to dive across and palm away.

Evan Horwood enjoyed an excellent game, and he set Bridge-Wilkinson up for a shot, immediately followed by a shot of his own as he gave Brighton a torrid time down their right flank.

Simon Hackney took advantage of some slack midfield play to spring an attack in the 82nd minute, and Danny Graham was unlucky with his chip as Kuipers gathered it comfortably down low.

Danny Carlton battled for a header in the box when Hackney sent a cross in with 4 minutes left to play, and it was looking comfortable for United as they controlled the game in a confident manner.

Gary Madine made his home debut in the 88th minute, replacing Danny Graham, and will have been surprised to see his stay on the pitch extended by 5 minutes when the fourth official showed the time added on number to a stunned crowd.

The added time made little difference, though, and United made it 5 League wins in a row as they kept the pressure on at the top with another comprehensive win.

Goals

United - Graham (35), Livesey (59)

Bookings

United - Murphy (50)

Brighton - Whing (40)

Teams 

United - Westwood, Raven, Livesey, Murphy, Horwood, Taylor (Carlton 83), Bridge-Wilkinson, G Smith (J Smith 78), Lumsdon, Hackney, Graham (Madine 88). Subs - Howarth, Arnison.

Albion - Kuipers, Whing, El-Abd, Westlake, Forster (Hart 78), Thomson, Murray, Fraser (Robinson 70), Elphick, Martot (Loft 70), Richards. Subs - Lynch, Sullivan.

Away fans - 358