United played host to Wycombe Wanderers in Sky Bet League Two at Brunton Park on Tuesday night.

And it was a share of the spoils as the visitors scored late to grab a point.

United's first attack of the evening proved to be a devastating one and it was sparked when Joyce won a battle for the ball in midfield. He fed it to Adams and his onward touch took stand-in left back Tom Miller on a raid down the left flank. He crossed on the run but it was just in front of Lambe, and Shaun Miller had to sprint to recover it and bring Jones into play.

More good movement from Adams eventually earned the Blues a corner, which the wide man sprinted over to take. The Chairboys fell asleep for the delivery and Reggie Lambe bagged his goal number five for the season as he bullied his way onto a corner to plant a header beyond Scott Brown's desperate flap.

Akinfenwa nodded a half chance wide at the other end as he jumped high to meet a delivery from Jombati, with Wycombe looking to recover from the early blow, but it was Carlisle who asked more questions when Liddle strode forward to bend an excellent cross into the box. Devitt hooked it back across the face of goal and El-Abd had to shepherd it behind as Lambe arrived late to try to make an impact.

Wycombe had half a sight of goal on 14 minutes when they popped the ball into the box for Akinfenwa to deal with. His nod down eventually broke for Eze but he lost his bearings and blazed his volley over the bar.

A deep free kick gave the visitors a second opportunity to put the ball into the mix but El-Abd didn't quite get enough on his header and it skidded towards the corner flag. Mackail-Smith was next to have a go when he shot from distance from another set piece but it was weak and easy for Bonham to deal with.

Adams had to do some defending in his own half when he was the last man to deal with a cross from Eze, and he then had a teaser of his own tipped over by Scott Brown as it dipped late and threatened to creep under the bar. The resulting corner was a good one and Liddle forced another set piece situation when his goal bound thunderbolt struck a body and deflected past the upright. 

Carlisle almost carved their way through again on the half hour when Tom Miller jinked inside only to be fouled by Jombati. The referee played the advantage and Shaun Miller was disappointed to have the ball robbed off his toe just as he shaped to shoot.

The Blues camped forward and Shaun Miller went close again when his initial cross was blocked. It came back at him and his attempt at a lob looped just behind the bar and onto the top of the net. The forward had his tail up and a cut in from the right flank left him with options as he made his way into the area. He went for a powerful strike and was a whisker away as it whipped just over the target.

Young defender James Brown earned a standing ovation when it looked to all intents and purposes that a neat header from Akinfenwa had sent Mackail-Smith clean through. The right back opened his legs to close the gap and executed a perfect sliding tackle before a shot could be made.

United were then awarded a spot kick when Scarr lunged in on Shaun Miller as he forged his way onto an excellent through ball. The referee took an age to calm things down, but Jamie Devitt kept his cool and thundered an unstoppable penalty past the wrong-footed keeper to make it two goals in two games for the in-form wide man.

The away side were awarded a free kick on the edge of the box in time added on for the half and they made it count as Sam Saunders bent it over the wall and in to the top corner to keep things interesting as the sides made their way down the tunnel.

The Cumbrians wasted a fantastic chance to rebuild their two goal cushion when they carved Wycome open just after the break. James Brown started it with a well-timed tackle, and Devitt and Lambe combined to put Adams into space on the angle. He tried to find the bottom corner but he pushed his first time shot wide with the stopper well beaten.

Hearts were in mouths at the other end when Tom Miller got underneath a cross at his back post. His header rose high into the night sky and he was relieved to see it bounce behind to safety off the top of the woodwork.

A training ground free kick routine almost paid dividends for Carlisle when two touches preceded a shot from Devitt. It had purpose but it curled the wrong side of the post. The Cumbrians stayed forward and determination in the tackle left Lambe with a clipped through ball for Miller to chase. He completed the pass but the striker was tackled just as he shaped to shoot. 

El-Abd tried a cheeky lob from the centre circle when he thought he'd spotted Bonham off his line, and Akinfenwa headed over as the Chairboys tried to build some pressure. And they got their reward when Jombati made it to the bye line before dropping a cross to the back stick. Ade Akinfenwa did the rest as he headed home from close range.

But the Blues got themselves back in front with eight minutes to play when Hope got his head down and went past his marker. He played it to Jones, who fed it wide to Lambe, and the Bermudan forward picked his spot with a lovely finish.

Akinfenwa missed a late chance to test the target when he volleyed over from the edge of the area, but United hearts were broken when Cowan-Hall headed home a late corner to claim a share of the spoils.

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Goals

Carlisle United - Lambe (4, 84), Devitt (38 pen)

Wycombe Wanderers - Saunders (45), Akinfenwa (72), Cowan-Hall (90)

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Bookings

Wycombe Wanderers - Saunders (37)

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Teams

Carlisle United - Bonham, J Brown, Liddle, Hill, T Miller, Lambe, Devitt (Rigg 69), Joyce, Jones, Adams (Kennedy 82), S Miller (Hope 69). Subs - George, Nabi, Cosgrove, Salkeld.

Wycombe Wanderers - S Brown, Jombati, Jacobson, Gape, El-Abd, Saunders (Bloomfield 78), Akinfenwa, Freeman, Mackail-Smith (Southwell 72), Eze (Cowan-Hall 69), Scarr. Subs - Ma-Kalambay, Stewart, O'Nien, Williams.

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Referee - Scott Duncan

Attendance - 3,562 (126 away fans)