United's Blue Army battled their way through road closures and heavy traffic to get to Rodney Parade on Saturday afternoon, but they brushed all of that aside to take their place in the stands as usual.
Manager Paul Simpson made one change to last weekend's team that faced Wimbledon with Omari Patrick, suffering from a niggling hamstring problem, replaced by Jack Stretton, who made his first league start for the club. That brought youth striker Nic Bollado onto the bench.
That was the plan - but there was a late change to the starters as Corey Whelan stepped in for Morgan Feeney, with more information to follow on the reason for that switch from the manager after the game. Jack Ellis moved onto the bench.
A weak shot from Bogle was followed by a dipper from Moxon that went over the bar at the other end as both sides came out of the blocks sharply, but the teams tightened things up quickly with time and space at a premium through the opening 10 minutes of the game.
There was a moment of concern in the United area on 11 minutes when Demetriou launched a long throw into the mix. It fell at feet, and Huntington readjusted to sweep it away.
The Cumbrians had a real chance when Back flighted a ball from the right touchline into the box. The clearance only went as far as Moxon, who opted to strike it on the volley from just inside the area. He got his bearings wrong and it spun well wide.
Huntington was onto the early balls that came into the box and he had to be on his toes when Nevers challenged for a Norman cross. He won the initial header then dealt with the loose pieces.
Another clipped delivery from Norman picked out Bogle as he bent a run towards the penalty spot, but he couldn't keep his header down.
United went on the break when a Demetriou throw was cut out, and Dennis pushed forward with the ball at his feet. Moxon was up in support, as was Armer, but the shot was blocked just as the wing back pulled the trigger.
Clarke had to scamper to get to a deep free kick from Lewis, with meaningful attacks sporadic in their nature, and it was almost inevitable that it was going into the stands as he stretched to head it.
The opening goal of the game came from nowhere as Newport somehow made their way down the left flank, when everything seemed to be under control. Nevers wriggled away and took advantage of hesitation to pull the ball across the face of the target. Moriah-Welsh was first to react, and an ugly first touch from him caused all kinds of problems as it spun and bounced. Holy was off his line and he was taken out of the equation with a toe poke that sent the ball over the line.
Carlisle looked to respond and Back threw a boot at a low pass after it had been shifted into the area. It had power but it was straight at Townsend.
The away side carved Newport open on 37 minutes when Moxon won a tackle deep inside his own half. He gave it to Dennis, who looked up to see Mellish on the overlap. The defender shrugged off a challenge before returning the favour with a reverse pass. Dennis was closed down just as it appeared to open up for him.
A low drilled effort from 18-yards from Back signalled the end of the first half, after Dennis had popped it his way, and the task at hand was clear as the whistle blew.
Two corners at the start of the second period put the visitors on the front foot, but they were eventually cleared. A cross from the right from Gibson suffered the same fate, and Stretton and Dennis were also closed out as they tried to link up.
More incisive one-touch play from Carlisle saw Gibson and Dennis combine, with a low cross from the wide man sitting up nicely for the striker to hit, off a Mellish touch. It was a difficult opportunity and he struck it into the deck.
Bogle tried a 40-yard lob when he spotted Holy off his line after Nevers had fed it his way, but it lacked the accuracy it needed.
United enjoyed long periods of possession, and they got their equaliser on 75 minutes when a Guy corner was ripped into the bodies that waited. It stuck under feet, and Corey Whelan didn't need to be asked twice. A thundering low punt from 14-yards bulged the net, allowing him to mark appearance number 50 for the club with his first goal in a blue shirt.
Holy was relieved to be able to scoop up a touch from Clarke when he got on the end of a whipped throw from Demetriou, with the action taking place just yards from the line.
A burst of pace from Hilton had the away fans on their feet as he arrowed in for a cross. It had Dennis interested but it was just too far in front of him.
Teenager Nic Bollado was on for his league debut in time added on, and he was almost involved immediately as Hilton lofted a beauty towards him at the far post. It was put behind for a corner, and United were denied a winner from that when Huntington's volley struck the bar as Guy's chosen method of zinging it once again shook the back line.
Hilton, who had made a real difference from the second he took to the pitch, was a yard away from grabbing the glory with a cruncher that whistled just too high late in the day, and United's defence of the last of many long launches from Demetriou brought the shutters down on an away day draw.
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Goals
Newport County - Moriah-Welsh (30)
Carlisle United - Whelan (75)
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Bookings
Newport County - Nevers (57), Evans (71), Bennett (83)
Carlisle United - Gibson (49)
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Teams
Newport County - Townsend (gk), Norman, Clarke, Bogle (Zimba 90), Bennett, Nevers (Waite 70), Lindley (Willmott 90), Moriah-Welsh, Lewis, Demetriou (c), Evans. Subs - Day (gk), Drysdale, Lewis, Wildig.
Carlisle United - Holy, Whelan (c), Huntington, Mellish, Back, Gibson (Hilton 69), Guy, Moxon (Harris 69), Armer, Stretton (Bollado 90), Dennis. Subs - Kelly (gk), Charters, Ellis, Idehen.
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Match officials
Referee - Keith Stroud
Assistant Referee 1 - George Byrne
Assistant Referee 2 - Andrew Dallison
Fourth Official - Sunny (sukhvir) Gill
Observer - Rodger Gifford
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Attendance - 3,876 (188)
