A change in personnel and four goals in the space of 16 second-half minutes were the key to the home side coming from 1-0 down to take the spoils. Shaun Brisley having put the Silkmen ahead on the stroke half-time before Matty Robson, a brace of goals from Scott Dobie and Marc Bridge-Wilkinson meant that John Rooney's excellent late strike for Town only made the score 4-2 to United.
After a quiet start to the game Ian Harte's free-kick into the Macclesfield box saw the ball cleared to just outside the 'D', lurking there was Tom Taiwo but he could only pull his half-volley wide of the target. The Silkmen having their first chance moments later when burly centre-forward Ricky Sappleton shot well over Adam Collin's crossbar, Collin playing with Lenny Pidgeley rested.
Gavin Rothery, in a rare start for Carlisle, then failing to connect with a header from Robson's cross in as it flew off a defender for a corner. Harte volleying wide from the resultant Graham Kavanagh flag-kick. In a rare busy spell in the first-half Colin Daniel then had a shot blocked for the Silkmen before a well placed Marc Bridge-Wilkinson at the other end wasted a good chance when, unmarked, he headed high and wide from Kavanagh's ball in.
Bridge-Wilkinson though going closer in the 37th minute when he played a quick one-two with Taiwo and struck in a shot that looped over Jon Brain but bounced away to safety off the top of the woodwork. Moments later Stephen Reed for the visitors hit a free-kick well over and into an empty Warwick Road End only for Carlisle to come right back as Rothery made a good run forward only to fire in a weak effort that was easy for Brain to save.
Just as the clock ticked into injury time in an opening period of pretty poor fare Macclesfield took the lead slightly against the run of play. Paul Bolland and Emile Sinclair working a short corner which resulted in Brisley heading into the net from eight yards out. The United defence having been involved in a game of statues as Brisley stole a yard in the middle of a crowded penalty area.
The second-half started in the same manner as the first with Carlisle pressing and Town looking to sit deep and cause problems on the break. The Cumbrians having a couple of early openings as Bridge-Wilkinson was unable to reach a Richard Offiong cross then Offiong himself headed poorly wide from a Kavanagh corner. Offiong showed some good pace on 57 minutes though to get free and cut the ball back for Taiwo ten yards out, Taiwo however screwing his shot horribly off target.
Rothery then blazed over the bar and Taiwo was wasteful once more as he shot even higher than Rothery had after good work from Robson, the home side now really turning the screw. A double change then made all the difference for the home side as Dobie and Joe Anyinsah replaced the ineffectual Offiong and Rothery. Robson though getting the equaliser on 64 minutes when he ran strongly into the box before firing left-footed into the net past Brain at his near-post.
It could have been 2-1 to the Silkmen midway through the half but ended up as 2-1 to Carlisle with a chance for either side. Hamza Bencherif first, clear through the middle, having his one-on-one shot blocked by the legs of Collin before United went straight up the other end as Dobie showed how it was done when, in a similar situation to Bencherif, he clipped the ball home beyond the reach of Brain.
Sappleton then headed a Reed cross over the top as the visitors looked to respond but it was soon Carlisle again when Dobie shot wide from a clever Bridge-Wilkinson pass, Bridge-Wilkinson then doing the same himself from a Harte ball moments later. Bridge-Wilkinson did get his goal though after 78 minutes when he beat Brain to a Harte left-wing cross to head into an empty Macclesfield net.
The goal-glut continued and it was 4-1 just two minutes later when Bridge-Wilkinson and Robson combined to set up Dobie for an easy finish past Brain. The last real chance of the night produced the best goal though in the 85th minute when a Town corner was only cleared straight out to Rooney, Wayne's younger brother then smashing a 22-yard drive beyond Collin off the inside of the left-hand post. It was too little too late for the Silkmen though and it is Carlisle who now progress to the northern quarter-finals of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy.