It was the long trip to the Checkatrade.com Stadium for United as they came up against Crawley Town in their latest Sky Bet League Two game.
Carlisle had to play over 15 minutes with just ten men as substitute Richie Bennett was given his marching orders, and a late, late tangle of players deep into time added on saw Parkes and Yorwerth given their marching orders as tempers flared inside the penalty box.
Crawley won a corner from a quick break with just 90 seconds on the clock but it was easy for Bonham to deal with it as the delivery dropped weakly at his front stick.
Things remained tight through a cagey opening spell with a cross from Boldewijn which was cleared by Parkes being the only incident of real note through the opening ten minutes.
United were gifted a corner just before the quarter hour when a poor back pass was miskicked by Morris as he came under pressure from Hope. Grainger delivered it but a whistle blew as Joyce recovered the loose ball and the referee spotted too many tussles inside the area for his liking.
Carlisle had a goal ruled out for offside when a poor kick out was snapped up by Etuhu. He found Miller, who shielded it with his back to goal before sliding it through Adams. He put it on a plate for Hope but the assistant referee intervened with his flag to close the celebrations down.
Glenn Morris suddenly looked hesitant between the Crawley sticks and he failed to deal with another through ball as he stood still until Hope steamed through. The keeper did just enough to put the striker off as he stretched a leg as the nippy front man tried to clip it into the waiting net.
Crawley showed as an attacking force on 22 minutes when Young found half a yard to cross from the right. It skipped across the face of goal and Bonham had to spread himself to make a point-blank save from a rasping volley from the late arriving Roberts.
Miller and Hope combined well as United worked their way forward into a good area. The former floated a lovely ball into the box and his strike partner took it well on his chest, but his first time effort was blocked before it could trouble the target.
United were nearly caught on the break for a second time when a huge kick forward sent Evina clear. He crossed early and Smith worked hard to get onto the end of it. His measured volley had goal written all over it until Bonham once again got down to make a vital save.
Hope blazed over from distance as good one-touch passing took Carlisle from defence to attack but the game moved back into midfield as the combatants tightened things up again ahead of the break.
Clint Hill headed well wide from an Adams free kick at the start of the second half and Grainger had to chest the ball behind at the other end when a deflected cross bounced awkwardly inside the area.
Carlisle took the bull by the horns on 51 minutes when they passed the ball from left to right to open space for Adams to cross. He sidestepped his man and bent the ball to the far post and Hallam Hope was on hand to nod it into the net to send the away fans behind the goal wild. The finish marked a fourth goal in eight games for the striker.
Jack Bonham had to get off his line quickly to punch a ball over the top as Evina tried to get a touch, and the big stopper did well as boots and knees to the ribs accompanied his clearance.
The Cumbrians carved Crawley to pieces on the hour when Brown carried the ball forward from defence. Adams called for it and sent Joyce on the overlap, but a wayward cross brought the moment to the end.
A comfortable afternoon was made difficult for the visitors on 74 minutes when referee Kevin Johnson showed a red card to substitute Richie Bennett as he judged that an elbow had been used during a challenge with Josh Yorwerth.
Carlisle reshaped and defended with their lives through the closing 15 minutes and their work rate earned them a thoroughly deserved three points as the ten men closed ranks to see the job through.
Parkes and Yorwerth were given their marching orders deep into time added on as tempers erupted inside the penalty box, and more yellow cards followed as the referee tried to calm things down.
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Goals
Carlisle United - Hope (51)
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Bookings
Crawley Town - Roberts (40), Evina (64), Young (90), Boldewijn (90)
Carlisle United - Hill (56), Jones (90)
Sent off - Bennett (74 - straight red), Parkes (90), Yorwerth (90)
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Teams
Crawley Town - Morris, Young, Payne, Connolly, Boldewijn, Smith, Roberts, Yorwerth, Evina (Camara 77), Bulman (Sanoh 87), Lelan (Meite 62). Subs - Mersin, Doherty, Tajbakhsh, Randall.
Carlisle United - Bonham, Grainger, Joyce, Parkes, Jones, Hope, Adams (Devitt 70), Brown, S Miller (Bennett 61), Etuhu (Liddle 90), Hill. Subs - George, T Miller, Cosgrove, Lambe.
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Referee - Kevin Johnson
Attendance - 2,021 (258 away fans)
