It's a massive thank you to Blackburn for hosting us on Wednesday afternoon as a number of United's squad got important minutes into their legs at the Brockhall Training Centre.
But the Cumbrians can feel hard done by as they found themselves on the end of a scoreline they didn't deserve.
The home side did have the first chance of the day when a quick short corner routine left men spare on the edge of the box. A snapshot whistled towards the top corner and there was relief when it glanced high off the top of the bar.
United edged on top and tenacity from Nugent saw him rob possession deep inside the Blackburn half. Butterworth took over and he dropped a shoulder to make room for a strike. That hit a defender and spun away for a corner.
The lively Joe Garner then got to an attempted clearance and he had the presence of mind to send Ablade on the overlap. A burst of pace took Carlisle's new boy beyond the back line but the angle was tight and his shot across the face of the target arrowed just wide.
A tussle in the centre circle went the way of Taylor Charters as he showed strength and he had just one thing in mind as he skipped down the left flank. His shot was blocked and the clearance completed.
Rovers started to settle and some neat passing opened things up, with an option to shoot when a cushioned pass was picked up in midfield. It was just a yard too high as it started on the rise and continued that way, having been unleashed from distance.
The hosts thought they'd done enough on the half hour when a one-two on the 18-yard line left Andresson exposed. The big keeper was excellent as he raced to time his dive at the feet of the striker to perfection.
And he was quickly on his feet with a clearance that found Garner alert and on his toes. The forward, some 40-yards out, spotted the keeper off his line and a near-perfect lob brought scrambling feet and a touch over the woodwork with the fingertips just in the nick of time.
Charters and Butterworth caused all kinds of problems with whipped corners leading up to the break, and Garner coudn't believe his bad luck when the last of the run of set pieces hit a defender before glancing off his thigh. It clipped the outside of the upright as it bounced harmlessly behind.
Very little was given away by either side through the opening 20 minutes of the second period, but Rovers took the lead from nowhere when they found themselves with options after the ball broke their way in the centre of the park. Andresson could do nothing as it was dinked over his advancing stride at very close range.
Home tails were suddenly up and Barclay had to stretch to head a ricocheted cross off the line as the ball spun wickedly towards the nets.
That sparked the Cumbrians back into life and Butterworth and Garner linked up in an advanced area, with Charters in support. He let fly from range but the keeper was spared any work by some brave defending.
Jayden Harris almost netted a wonderful equaliser when he picked the ball up out wide, still ten yards inside his own half. He wound his way past two initial challenges, then flicked his way through another two, and was disappointed to see his thunderbolt whistle a millimetre away from where it needed to be.
Rovers doubled their lead on 89 minutes when they pounced after Andresson had just completed a fantastic save from a cruncher of a volley. The keeper was up quickly for the second phase of the attack but he was judged to have caught the striker on the foot and a penalty was awarded. He had to watch in agony as he was sent the wrong way.
And the last kick of the afternoon was a neat clip which found the bottom corner after the visitors had thrown men forward in an attempt to get something back.
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Carlisle United - Andresson, Ellis (c), Barclay, Whelan, Robinson, Nugent (Hetherington 46), Butterworth, Harris (Swinburn 80), Charters, Ablade (Allan 60), Garner. Subs - Barry, Park.
