The Blues were back at Brunton Park on Tuesday night as the run of fixtures continued at full flow.
Gime Toure was into the starting line up for the first time since the December away trip to Forest Green, with Brennan Dickenson dropping down to the bench.
Striker Cedwyn Scott made his first appearance in the match day 18 as a substitute as the home side looked to build on their solid Saturday away performance at Salford.
Tranmere came into the encounter having lost just one game in their last nine outings, and with more than one eye on a top seven finish.
A duo of balls down the middle had first Toure and then Patrick interested as the hosts tried to get straight onto the front foot, and that was exactly the case as captain Nick Anderton crafted a fantastic opening from the half clearance.
He first side stepped beyond his man before putting Toure on the overlap, and he was intelligent when he rolled it back from whence it came. Anderton clipped it into the box with his weaker right foot and Kayode was onto it with a stunning close-range volley which ripped into the roof of the net, taking him to a tally of five for the season.
Callum Guy had Davies at full stretch with a rasping free kick from tight by the left hand touchline. A hand from the keeper sent it towards Hayden, and he nodded it back into the mix. Bennett and Kayode challenged but it was eventually hooked away.
A slick passing move saw United pop their way through midfield and Mellish was upended by Lewis as the action developed. Toure was there, as was Riley, but his guided shot was right at Davies.
There was danger at the other end when Woolery somehow wriggled his way through two challenges on the edge of the box. His shot was squashed by an excellent intervention from Riley and Farman scooped the loose ball up.
The Carlisle passes were flowing and the hosts worked their way out of a tight spot with short stuff from Tanner and Patrick. It was curled out to Anderton, but he was tackled well by Nelson.
For all of the good play the home side were done on the break when an attacking move broke down. A ball out of defence was flicked on by Vaughan and it was suddenly two against one. Feeney fed it to Woolery, and he did enough to poke it past Farman as he spread himself to try to make a block.
Woolery found a yard again from a Feeney cross as Tranmere looked buoyed by the goal, but the effort was stopped by Guy. Spearing and Lloyd then had speculative punts charged down as they went for it from distance.
The Blues saw the spell out and they were in front again after Patrick pulled the ball wide. He spotted Guy in space, and he wasted no time in bringing Toure into play. The big striker had his back to goal, but he dropped a shoulder and dribbled a pass for Anderton to strike. It was a thunderbolt, and Davies could do nothing as it flashed into his bottom corner.
A sprint from Gime Toure from a Kayode flick on the left flank had him bearing down on the right back. He stepped over, then picked a pass for Mellish, who was dead centre and 10-yards out. It was just an inch behind the midfielder and it got stuck under his feet, and Clarke was able to swipe it away.
Rovers responded with wayward shots that, in one case, landed in the Paddock, but there was a moment just before the break when Spearing whipped the ball across the face of goal. Bennett was in control, and he lifted his boot to let it pass when he saw that Vaughan was on his heels.
The equaliser came from nowhere as Vaughan floated a seemingly harmless pass from deep into the area. Bennett let it go and that left Farman with no time to react. It was disappointment all round as it wound its way over the line.
United looked for a reply in time added on for the half when Toure and Kayode worked Mellish into the box. His cut back found Riley but there was an important block which diverted the goal bound volley away from the target.
An early corner in the second period from the visitors was well dealt with by Farman as it dipped into bodies. He had to stay on top of it as kicks flew in, but it was eventually ushered away.
United had set pieces of their own as they attacked down the left, but deep deliveries were dealt with as Hayden and Bennett challenged.
Carlisle kept pressing and Anderton and Patrick stayed patient as they found space to cross. The clip from Patrick was a tester and Feeney was on the stretch as he put it over his own bar.
The corner count kept piling out and Guy put one right on the spot, but O'Connor moved first to head it behind.
Patrick then beat his marker twice before pulling it back, but another firm defensive header stopped Kayode from being able to finish it off.
The Blues were close again when Anderton overlapped before checking his run. He crossed from his right boot and Toure was ready to put it away until MacDonald got there just in the nick of time.
United thought they'd done enough when a Guy corner was met on the full by Kayode. His header had venom and pace, and it flew past Davies, but Vaughan was on the line to make a timely clearance.
It become a real battle as the conditions worsened, but Woolery was gifted a chance when Hayden underhit a back pass. The shot was going in but for the slightest of fingertip touches from Farman.
The corner was under control but Zanzala played a blind pass and that invited a shot from distance. The United keeper watched it all the way.
A late gust of wind as a Morris corner came in almost outfoxed Farman but he did well to get a palm to it. Rovers stayed up in numbers and they nicked the win with two minutes left to play when Nugent pulled wide as a home break fizzled out. He managed to put the ball back across the face of goal and Vaughan had the relatively simple task of putting it into the back of the net as he slid in.
Tanner sliced wide as the clock ticked down, but Tranmere shut the door to take the three points.
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Goals
Carlisle United - Kayode (3), Anderton (27)
Tranmere Rovers - Woolery (21), Vaughan (43, 88)
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Bookings
Tranmere Rovers - Lewis (12)
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Teams
Carlisle United - Farman, Tanner, Hayden (McDonald 81), Bennett, Anderton (c), Riley, Mellish (Dickenson 89), Guy, Toure (Alessandra 79), Kayode, Patrick (Zanzala 79). Subs - Norman (gk), Furman, Scott.
Tranmere Rovers - Davies (c), Nelson (O'Connor 49), Spearing, Vaughan, Woolery (Nugent 86), MacDonald, Feeney, Ray, Lewis, Clarke, Lloyd (Morris 70). Subs - Murphy (gk), Ridehalgh, Crawford, Kirby.
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Match officials
Referee - Scott Oldham
Assistant Referee 1 - Simon Clayton
Assistant Referee 2 - Paul Newhouse
Fourth Official - Adam Herczeg
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Attendance - BCD
