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Carlisle meanwhile once more fielded trialist Craig Lindfield, the former Liverpool man playing on the left-hand side of a front three spearheaded by Gary Madine, with new boy Richard Offiong on the right. The rest of the side being a mixture of youth and experience with Jonny Blake and Blues man of the match Steven Swinglehurst in the back four, along with Marc Bridge-Wilkinson playing in the middle of the park.
A glorious late summer evening saw the match get underway with United having the first shot on goal with four minutes on the clock, Bridge-Wilkinson's effort deflecting wide off the legs of Matty Poole. The resultant Gavin Rothery corner in from the right seeing Madine head over the top from ten yards out.
Poole was again around the ball in the tenth minute when his foul on Offiong meant that Bridge-Wilkinson was able to stick a 30-yard free-kick into the box. The pace and accuracy of the delivery meaning that a surprise goalscorer in Tony Kane, parked on the penalty spot, was able to glance a well-placed header into the far corner beyond the reach of Scott Davies.
Kane made a mistake at the other end five minutes later though when his poor header back to Adam Collin allowed Michael Twiss to lob over the advancing Collin and into the net, fortunately for Carlisle though the offside flag went up extremely late. The Blues then looking to make it 2-0 after 20 minutes when Lindfield pounced on a loose ball only to strike a right-footed 22-yarder straight at Davies.
The impressive Poole then failed to take a good chance for the Shrimps went he put a diving header from a Mark Duffy cross beyond the near-post in the 27th minute before Offiong showed a real turn of pace down the left only for his low cross in to be easily cleared. Morecambe were soon back at it though and after 32 minutes strikers Wayne Curtis and Twiss combined nicely to set up Duffy for a poor right-footed curler across goal from the left which only sliced well wide.
Four minutes later Offiong cut in from the left quickly but his right-footed 22-yard shot disappeared well over the top and into the deserted away end. Carlisle having a better chance shortly afterwards when a long ball up was neatly flicked on by Madine into the path of Lindfield. That left Lindfield one-on-one with Davies 15 yards out but he was only to slam his shot straight at the Morecambe stopper when a bit of composure would surely have produced a goal.
Moments later and Madine was in the action again when his pass laid Michael Burns on outside the box for a shot that went wide of the target. Morecambe then coming back as the game started to go end-to-end, Duffy's short pass to Twiss finding Twiss only able to toe-poke a left-footed effort past the near-post from 12 yards out.
In a busy spell in the game the Shrimps went close after Kane had fouled Duffy just to the left of the United 'D', Henry McStay stepping up to curl a right-footer over the wall and inches over the top with Collin rooted to the spot. The last chance of the half coming almost on the whistle when, from Neil Wainwright's right-wing cross, an under pressure Twiss headed wide of the back-stick from eight yards out.
Morecambe boss Jeff Udall made both a personnel and tactical change at the break as centre-half Jim Bentley was replaced by Rory Winters, the Shrimps also going three at the back on occasion as Wainwright pushed down the right. Carlisle though getting the first goal attempt of the half in only for Lindfield to hit the roof of the home terrace with a right-footed "shot" from distance.
A quiet spell then followed as both sides scrapped it out for possession in a congested midfield before Wainwright stuck a cross in from the left for an off balance Twiss to head over the top from close range on 57 minutes. Burns five minutes later pushing the ball on for Lindfield to hit in a right-footed shot that Davies was able to watch go wide.
That break in play meant that Graham Kavanagh brought himself on, along with Conor Tinnion, in place of Blake and Offiong, the change seeing Kavanagh go to centre-half while Kane moved out one into Blake's vacant right-back spot. The home side then making their second substitution of the game sixty seconds later when Ricky Ball replaced Wainwright on the right.
Tinnion got into some good areas down the left in his 28 minutes but he did fail to take an opportunity with 21 minutes to go when he fired Rothery's low cross over the top from close range. United did make it 2-0 moments later though when Horwood put a good ball down the left, Tinnion put a good low ball across the box, Lindfield put a good shot in and Davies made a good save. The ball bounced up off Davies and back off the bar though to leave Lindfield with an easy two-yard tap in.
But just as the Blues were looking to coast to the final whistle the Shrimps pulled a goal back two minutes later, Craig Stanley's outswinging free-kick in from the right seeing McStay, 15 yards out, able to get above Swinglehurst for once and thump a bullet header back across Collin and in. Carlisle came back well though and easily soaked up any Morecambe pressure before Burns sliced a right-footed 30-yarder well wide for United on 83 minutes.
The Blues were always looking dangerous going forward themselves and they made it 3-1 four minutes later. Horwood rampaging down the left from a Swinglehurst pass only to overhit his cross a little, Madine chased it down in the corner though and his pass back inside to Rothery saw the former Leeds man jink inside a defender before placing a left-footed 12-yarder into the far corner of the net.
As the sides were lining back up for the kick-off Ryan Bowman came on upfront for Lindfield, then just as the clock ticked into injury time Tinnion set up Madine for a shot from just outside the box which went straight at Davies. The Morecambe stopper could do nothing sixty seconds later though when Tinnion broke into the box and the ball eventually fell to Bowman, the United youngster making no mistake ten yards out with a crisp right-footed strike.
The Shrimps almost having the last laugh before the final whistle though when Kavanagh's dreadful pass across his own box found Collin just able to pounce on the ball after a bad first touch from Curtis. So two reserve games played, two wins, 11 goals scored, no injuries and a few first teamers getting a good run out, you can't ask for much more really.
Morecambe line-up :
Scott Davies, Henry McStay, Andy Parrish, Matty Poole (c), Jim Bentley (Rory Winters 46), Craig Stanley, Neil Wainwright (Ricky Ball 63), Garry Hunter, Wayne Curtis, Michael Twiss, Mark Duffy.
Unused substitutes :
Adam Bee (GK), Ben Jackson and Gavin Clark.
United line-up :
Adam Collin, Jonny Blake (Graham Kavanagh 62), Evan Horwood, Tony Kane, Steven Swinglehurst, Marc Bridge-Wilkinson (c), Craig Lindfield, Michael Burns, Richard Offiong (Conor Tinnion 62), Gavin Rothery, Gary Madine (Ryan Bowman 87).
Unused substitutes :
Mark Gillespie (GK) and Sean Law.
Referee - Dean Mohareb (Stockport).
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