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The Blues started brightly and in the second minute Rothery stuck a good cross in from the left which Kevin Gall could only slice on the volley well wide of the far-post from 15 yards out. Conor Tinnion then hitting an excellent crossfield ball to Gall two minutes later which the Welshman laid off to Chris Lumsdon running into the penalty area, Lumsdon's 15-yard right-footed shot being well held by Morecambe goalkeeper Scott Davies.
It was Carlisle again after seven minutes when Burns chipped a nice pass down the left for Tinnion, his cross in seeing Cook and Shrimps defender Jason Yates both reach the ball at the same time eight yards out as it then flew into the gloves of Davies. Sixty seconds later Tinnion setting up Rothery for a close-range side-footer which was well blocked by Matthew Bell.
Morecambe got their first shot in with 11 minutes gone and it was fairly hammered too as Diarmuid O'Carroll's right-footed strike from distance came crashing back off the face of Alex Mitchell's crossbar. Four minutes later and after Jonny Blake had headed clear a Matty Blinkhorn cross for the visitors out of the Carlisle box Michael Carr sliced a 30-yard volley with his right boot well wide of the target.
Moments later and Evan Horwood sent an excellent ball in from deep on the left which, in stark contrast to his youth team exploits, Cook headed over the top from ten yards out. Horwood then combining with Gall to set up Rothery for the opening goal of the game in the 22nd minute, Rothery hitting a low 15-yard right-footed drive across goal and into the far bottom corner of the Morecambe net.
Three minutes on and Carr's 22-yard shot deflected off Horwood for a corner, Garry Hunter's flag-kick in then seeing Yates miss a sitter as, completely unmarked, he could only head over Mitchell's crossbar from eight yards out. Hunter running back up to his centre-back spot cursing his efforts as Mitchell set up for the goal-kick.
A foul on Burns by Hunter on the edge of the Shrimps centre-circle gave Carlisle an opportunity after 27 minutes. Lumsdon hitting the free-kick up to Rothery who touched it off cleverly into the path of Cook 15 yards from goal. Cook's low shot with the outside of his right boot seeing Davies make an excellent fingertip save as he pushed the ball onto his left-hand post and behind for a Tinnion corner which came to nothing.
Shortly afterwards O'Carroll hit a weak right-footed shot from distance this time which was an easy one for Mitchell to save. Cook, with 32 minutes on the clock, then heading wide under pressure eight yards out at the back-post from a Gall corner in. Play then going up the other end again in the 35th minute as Matthew Dodwell stuck a great ball across from the left which evaded everybody and left Mitchell having to make a diving stop at his far-post.
The Shrimps did get an equaliser five minutes later though when Matthew Poole's left-footed strike from 15 yards out reared up off the boot of Tom Aldred and flew over the top of Mitchell into the roof of the United net. Moments later Blake's foul on Ryan McCann on the far angle of the Carlisle penalty area seeing O'Carroll waste the set-piece as he blazed it right-footed well over Mitchell's crossbar.
The last action of what had been a pretty poor first-half from both sides on an extremely cold evening at Brunton Park being O'Carroll feeding possession into the feet of McCann 15 yards out. McCann then smacking in a fierce drive that Mitchell parried over for a corner, that coming to nothing as a tepid 45 minutes came to a close.
It got even less interesting after the interval too as it took 12 minutes for the first chance for the pencil to hit the notepad. Horwood, who had a good game, hitting an excellent diagonal ball over to the right which Gall crossed into the near-post area. Cook then racing onto it only able to lift it on the half-volley over the top with his right boot from six yards out.
Just before the hour-mark and Carr hit a 25-yard left-footed half-volley well over the United crossbar. Then just after the hour-mark Burns and Horwood pushed play forward together with Tinnion the recipient 15 yards out in the Morecambe box, Tinnion's left-footed shot though going straight at a well-positioned Davies.
A minute or so of action came along in the 64th one as a long Davies goal-kick up was flicked on by Blinkhorn for O'Carroll to tap the ball past an advancing Mitchell just inside the Carlisle penalty area, Horwood the defender racing back to whack the ball away from the line and out for a corner.
From that first Hunter flag-kick in Blinkhorn, unmarked ten yards out brought a good low save out of Mitchell at his near-post. Blinkhorn the man again stationed on the penalty spot this time from the following Hunter corner as his next header skipped away wide of Mitchell's near-post to complete some poor United defending.
Midway through the second-half Dodwell cut in from the left on his weaker right foot and fired an understandably soft 25-yard shot in that was easy for Mitchell to save. Carlisle then finally getting something going after 72 minutes when Blake sent an excellent cross in which was only part-cleared by Bell to Tinnion, who then fed possession on to Burns. The former Bolton man though hitting in a left-footed daisy cutter from 20 yards which Davies handled easily.
Sixty seconds later Hunter fired a right-footed 25-yarder wide of the United far-post, then on 78 minutes came the only substitution of the night. Cook, who had a disappointing night by his own standards, being replaced by John Seaton, that change seeing Gall move upfront while Seaton checked into his traditional spot on the right-hand side of midfield.
Shortly afterwards Gall hammered a cross-shot in from over on the right-hand by-line which was easily caught by Davies on his line. Then five minutes from time the Shrimps profited from some more dodgy Carlisle defending to get the winner when, from a Hunter corner in, the smallest player on the pitch in Poole was left unmarked to send a flicked six-yard header past a Mitchell who had advanced a little to meet the cross, and into the back of the Blues net.
With United now looking for a late equaliser in the final minute a Poole cross in from the right saw Blake, on the six-yard line, try to head it out for corner only to end up playing a neat one-two with his own far-post. The last kick of the game being Gall feeding Rothery for a left-footed shot from just inside the Morecambe penalty area which went straight at Davies to end a poor game on a grotty night, can we all go home now?
United line-up :
Alex Mitchell, Jonny Blake, Evan Horwood, Tom Aldred, Grant Smith, Gavin Rothery, Chris Lumsdon, Michael Burns, Kevin Gall, Andy Cook (John Seaton 78), Conor Tinnion.
Unused substitutes :
Ryan Bowman, Matt Duffy, Simon Lakeland and Sean Law.
Morecambe line-up :
Scott Davies, Ben Jackson, Matthew Dodwell, Matthew Bell, Jason Yates, Ryan McCann, Matty Poole, Garry Hunter, Matthew Blinkhorn, Diarmuid O'Carroll, Michael Carr.
Unused substitutes :
Adam Bee (GK), Daniel Bell, Shaun Richards and Asa Stone.
Referee - Paul Curry (Morpeth).
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