Carlisle United 1-0 Crawley Town 0: Early Kristian Dennis goal earns Blues opening-day win

The striker pounced in the fifth minute to fire past Crawley keeper Ellery Balcombe.

And that proved the decisive moment on the League Two opening day in front of a 6,403 crowd.

Paul Simpson's Carlisle could have had plenty more goals amid some dominant and forceful spells of attacking.

They created a series of chances while Ryan Edmondson also saw a goal disallowed for offside amid an impressive showing.

At the other end, meanwhile, they kept Kevin Betsy's side at bay to chalk up three points, a James Tilley shot that skimmed the woodwork the closest the Sussex side came.

Simpson gave five players debuts with Tomas Holy, Owen Moxon, Fin Back, Ben Barclay and Edmondson all starting.

New keeper Michael Kelly was on the bench, while Brennan Dickenson and Tobi Sho-Silva were out injured and Jamie Devitt missed out with illness.

United - captained by Morgan Feeney - made a rapid start and might have scored in the fourth minute when Back broke behind the defence and Edmondson's close-range finish brought a save from new Crawley keeper Balcombe.

But Carlisle then did swiftly go in front, when a fifth-minute clearance was blocked by Moxon and Dennis was first to react, finishing clinically across Balcombe from the left.

Dennis fires the only goal

That was the starting point for a relentless spell of pressing and attacking from Simpson's side.

Always keen to intercept Crawley's attempted passing from the back, they forced a number of openings.

Edmondson, latching onto a Jon Mellish ball over the top, narrowly failed to make it two, with Jordan Gibson almost forcing an opening with a promising right-sided attack.

Dennis then spun beautifully onto a pass but Back couldn't connect with his cross as Moxon's follow-up was blocked.

Callum Guy was next in on the act, exchanging passes with Edmondson before firing over at close range.

Dennis then whistled a shot wide via the keeper's fingertips after good work from Guy, before Jack Armer received the season's first booking for a challenge on ex-Blues striker Ashley Nadesan.

There seemed minimal contact as Armer swung at the ball and missed and Nadesan took a tumble, but ref Thomas Kirk showed the wing-back the yellow card.

Crawley saw more of the ball after the half-hour mark as United went deeper, with Tilley seeing a low shot deflect against the outside of the post.

But Carlisle came close again when Gibson broke quickly through midfield and saw his eventual shot saved, Edmondson's follow-up also blocked.

Edmondson then backheeled an Armer volley just wide after a Moxon corner had been cleared.

Fin Back tussles with Ashley Nadesan (Image: Barbara Abbott)

At the other end, Crawley's star summer signing Dom Telford hit a first-time shot just over the bar as Tom Nichols found room on the left to cross.

Telford sounded another warning three minutes before the break when, after a good move involving Jack Powell had opened Carlisle up, he found space to fire just over the top right corner.

Gibson then crashed a shot against Adeleke Omole's head as United tried to end the first 45 minutes on the front foot.

Crawley made two changes at the break - one of them in goal, Corey Addai replacing Balcombe, while Jake Hessenthaler also came on for Powell.

And United were quick to force the second half's first real chance when Moxon's hustling led to an opening for Dennis, whose shot was parried by Addai, and his appeals for a foul when attacking the follow-up ignored by ref Kirk.

Another break by Edmondson then saw another opportunity but his cross evaded Moxon and then the angle was too tight for Armer, who turned it back into the six-yard box as Crawley cleared.

Gibson next had a shot saved with Dennis unable to convert the rebound as Carlisle continued to pass up good chances to put Crawley out of sight.

Morgan Feeney in aerial battle

Back then won the ball back in Crawley's box after yet another attack, but couldn't set up Edmondson at close range.

United's inability to get a second kept the visitors in it, and a Tilley shot gave them a scare when it hit Moxon and wrongfooted Holy, but the ball drifted just wide.

Simpson then sent on Omari Patrick just after the hour mark, in place of Dennis, and the speedy forward was quickly into things, leaving George Francomb on the floor but finding the angle too tight to finish from the left.

Nadesan, for Crawley, saw an attempt blocked by Barclay, while captain Feeney ghosted onto a Gibson cross and saw his glancing finish kept out by Addai.

Somehow it remained 1-0 after another Blues attack which eventually saw Edmondson poach home, only to be denied by the offside flag.

Guy had to go off injured in the closing stages as Corey Whelan took his place in midfield, and the sub made some good interceptions as United finished the game strongly.

Dion Conroy headed an injury-time free-kick wide for Betsy's side, with Sonny Hilton coming on for a late Blues debut as Simpson's side saw through the opening-day victory after five minutes of added time.

United: Holy, Barclay, Feeney, Mellish, Back, Armer, Guy (Whelan 83), Gibson (Hilton 90), Moxon, Edmondson, Dennis (Patrick 62). Not used: Kelly, Ellis, Bell, Bollado.

Goal: Dennis 5.

Booked: Armer.

Crawley: Balcombe (Addai 46), Johnson, Omole (Appiah 74), Conroy, Tilley, Francomb (Adebuwale 85), Powell (Hessenthaler 46), Balagizi (Jenks 68), Nichols, Nadesan, Telford. Not used Francillette.

Booked: Balagizi, Omole, Tilley.

Ref: Thomas Kirk.

Crowd: 6,403 (166 Crawley fans).