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With Grant Smith sidelined with a slight thigh problem and Ben Williams claiming the number one shirt it was a straight 4-4-2 formation for the Cumbrians at kick-off. The only real tactical changes to that through the match being Simon Hackney and Cleveland Taylor swapping flanks from about the half-hour mark onwards.
The writing was on the wall for a lacklustre Carlisle side after just three minutes when a Michael Carr corner saw far too many defenders going to the ball and leaving David Artell free on his own at the back-post. Artell then able to hit a deft chip from about ten yards out back across Williams and into the top corner of the United net.
Michael Bridges sent a couple of potshots wide for the Blues but it was the Shrimps playing by far the better football, although it was a big boot down the middle by Barry Roche that made the score 2-0 on 22 minutes. Williams the man totally at fault as he came off his line without giving Danny Livesey a shout, Livesey then, as defenders have to, getting a head on the ball only to send it sailing over a mute Williams and across the line.
Williams, who seems to be rather like ex-United namesake Anthony, in being a good shotstopper but not the best communicator or commander of his penalty area, then making a couple of good saves to keep a Morecambe side, who were outworking the Cumbrians all over the pitch, at bay.
It was obvious to see that Carlisle had got a deserved kick up the backside at half-time and in a role reversal they had by fair the better of the exchanges after the break. Both sides had a couple of shots that were either blocked or went wide early on before a sweetly hit effort by Dobie from the edge of the box clipped the base of the home post on it's way out for a goal-kick.
Things were starting to become a bit more end-to-end now as both sides made a few changes to their starting elevens. A flurry of activity midway through the half seeing Marc Bridge-Wilkinson and David Raven go close, before Danny Carlton raced back well to make an excellent block as the Shrimps broke quickly straight up the other end of the pitch.
Artell then went close with a header for the home side before Taylor, who was by a distance United's man-of-the-match, cut in on his right foot from the left and hammered a fierce drive inches over the Morecambe crossbar. Roche then moving across as fast as a snail on cannabis to parry wide a similar Bridge-Wilkinson effort in the 81st minute.
United finally got the goal that their second-half pressure deserved three minutes later when Carlton did a lovely dummy over a Dobie pass to him and peeled off straight into the path of a Graham lay-off into his run into the Morecambe box. Carlton then thumping a right-footed drive past a fat-footed and flat-footed Roche at his near-post.
Carlisle then almost getting themselves out of jail as the clocked ticked into injury-time only for Bridge-Wilkinson's direct curling free-kick from just outside the far side of the box to ping back off the face of the crossbar with Roche well beaten. That woodwork strike though should hopefully teach United that to not lose games you have to put the hard yards in for 90 minutes and not just 45.
Morecambe line-up :
Barry Roche, Andrew Parrish (Ryan McCann 79), Danny Adams (Adam Yates 65), Jim Bentley (Henry McStay 62), David Artell, Garry Hunter, Michael Carr (Craig Stanley 79), Fraser McLachlan (Stewart Drummond 62), Neil Wainwright (Wayne Curtis 62), Diarmuid O'Carroll (Michael Twiss 79), Matty Blinkhorn.
Unused substitutes :
Scott Davies (GK) and Rene Howe.
United line-up :
Ben Williams, David Raven, Evan Horwood, Danny Livesey, Peter Murphy (Josh Gowling 79), Cleveland Taylor, Marc Bridge-Wilkinson, Paul Thirlwell, Simon Hackney (Danny Carlton 62), Michael Bridges (Danny Graham 62), Scott Dobie.
Unused substitutes :
Chris Howarth (GK), Darren Campion, Luke Joyce, Gary Madine and Jeff Smith.
Attendance - 1,465 (502 away fans).