Kendal Town 0 Carlisle United 9: Jamie Devitt hit a hat-trick and Sonny Hilton was among the goals as Carlisle eased to an emphatic pre-season win at Kendal.
New signing Hilton marked his first Blues appearance with a first-half brace.
And then Devitt, in his first outing as he bids to earn a new deal, got three in the space of 11 minutes after the break.
Tobi Sho-Silva also helped himself to two with Kristian Dennis and Nic Bollado adding to United’s tally as Paul Simpson’s side had a ruthless night against their south Cumbrian hosts in their second pre-season outing.
The gulf in quality was clear throughout at the Mortgages by McAteer Stadium on a night another new boy, Ben Barclay, got his first 45 minutes in a Carlisle shirt.
He played on the right of a back three in the first half as Carlisle racked up the goals with a clinical showing.
United offered little mercy to their North West Counties Premier League hosts although, in truth, their five-goal half-time lead could easily have been increased.
They knocked on the door in the fifth minute when Hilton turned sharply and went close. From the resulting Brennan Dickenson corner, Dennis’s blocked attempt fell to Sho-Silva and the striker poached to open his pre-season account.
Carlisle, even accounting for the gulf in quality, were impressively sharp, with Simpson demanding high standards from the touchline.
United’s movement in Kendal’s half was often too much for the hosts, as they passed and moved at pace. Jon Mellish, often breaking forward from the back three, went close, and then both Dennis and Owen Moxon were narrowly off target with chips.
Moxon otherwise showed his bright passing range from midfield while Gibson’s alertness and Hilton’s twists and turns gave Kendal various problems. Home keeper James McClenaghan denied Dennis, Moxon headed against the bar, and then came a flurry of goals.
First, on 22 minutes, Sho-Silva crossed from the left and the unmarked Dennis buried a clinical header.
Dickenson passed up a good chance shortly afterwards before, on 25 minutes, Hilton got his first Carlisle goal - getting behind the defence, easing away from a defender and finishing low and confidently.
A couple of minutes later and it was four, Gibson breaking free on the right and Sho-Silva sliding home the cross.
Still Simpson called for maximum control and energy, and he got it four minutes on as Carlisle increased their lead to five. Dickenson’s attempt was parried, but Hilton was there to prod it over the line.
For Kendal, there were few opportunities to come up for air, though they almost shocked Carlisle with a goal seven minutes before the interval when Finn Lynch got behind United’s right defensive side.
His cut-back, though, evaded Steve Yawson, whose pace had made him Kendal’s most obvious outlet in a tough first half for the Mintcakes.
READ MORE: Kendal Town 0-9 Carlisle United - as it happened!
The second half, from the home side’s point of view, was a better one for a spell as United’s team, with nine changes, did not initially enjoy quite the same flow of chances.
Ryan Edmondson did get in more than once but found himself denied by defenders and McClenaghan. Kendal did some more confident work, with Corey Whelan needing to be alert to stop Yawson supplying Lynch, before Simpson made a double change on the hour, giving opportunities to teenagers Gabe Breeze and Kai Nugent.
Elsewhere, Devitt got his first pre-season chance, at first in midfield, then in a more advanced position after the substitutions, as he aims to prove his fitness to Simpson ahead of a contract decision.
The midfielder’s quality was on show in the 66th minute when he turned away from attention and sent a sweet ball into Edmondson’s path, but the ex-Leeds man couldn’t beat the keeper.
United sought to step things up in the closing 20 minutes as home defender Martin Grundy thwarted Edmondson, and then Bollado and Devitt were denied.
Finally the sixth did come, a move involving sub Nugent, Devitt and Edmondson finished impressively by Bollado, as the teenager went through, rounded the keeper, held off a defender and slotted home.
Edmondson then should have made it seven, his free header hitting the bar after Devitt and Jack Armer had brightly combined, and then Devitt controlled a Nugent cross, dropped the shoulder and missed the target when a goal seemed his for the taking.
He atoned though, just a few minutes later, confidently firing home after good work from Jack Ellis and Bollado – and then, at the other end, Kendal’s best chance, a ricochet putting Shaun Sailor clean through, was denied by a solid Breeze save.
Devitt then got his second, with a merciless finish from the left.
Bollado sent another great late chance over the bar, Edmondson was denied by a good late save, and then Devitt capped his positive return by rifling home a pitch-assisted goal with the game’s final touch; a hat-trick for the midfielder capping a goal-heavy night for Carlisle.
The Blues, meanwhile, were without Omari Patrick, Sam Fishburn and Taylor Charters. Carlisle, despite some online rumours about Patrick's future, said the three were absent with knocks.
Kendal: McClenaghan, Wraighte, Hankinson, Thomas, Grundy, Nightingale, Croskell-Robinson, Egan, Lynch, Sailor, Yawson. Subs: Keito, Jessop, Mobbs, Basterfield, Redmayne, Backhouse, Ellis, Wilcock
United (first half): Holy, Feeney, Barclay, Mellish, Carr, Moxon, Dickenson, Hilton, Gibson, Sho-Silva, Dennis; (second half) Holy (Breeze 61), Armer, Kilsby, Ellis, Whelan, Guy, Bell, Devitt, Bollado, Edmondson, Dennis (Nugent 61).
Goals: Sho-Silva 6, 28; Dennis 22, Hilton 26, Bollado 72, Devitt 79, 83, 90.
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