Carlisle United beat Scunthorpe United 4-2 at Brunton Park to claim a second home victory of the season.
Goals from Miguel Azeez, Regan Linney and Josh Williams helped the Blues into a commanding first-half lead, before United saw out an entertaining encounter to secure all three points.
Rob Elliot made two changes from Friday night’s draw at Wealdstone with Josh Williams and Stephen Wearne coming into the starting XI.
United made the perfect start and took the lead after just seven minutes through Azeez.
The midfielder picked up the ball on the edge of the box, shifted it onto his left foot and arrowed a low effort into the bottom corner to put the Blues ahead.
Scunthorpe responded and found an equaliser in the 28th minute when Jordan Richards struck to bring the visitors level.
United’s response was almost immediate and Linney restored the advantage just five minutes later after a quick ball forward from Adam Desbois.
The forward found the back of the net to make it 2-1 before the Blues extended their lead further five minutes later through Williams.
Kelly was involved in the build-up before Williams finished to give United a two-goal cushion heading towards the interval.
HALF-TIME: Carlisle United 3-1 Scunthorpe United
The visitors came out looking for a route back into the contest after the break with chances at both ends.
Linney went into the referee’s book early in the second period before Elliot made a number of changes as the game progressed, with Leo Duru, Morgan Feeney and Junior Luamba amongst those introduced.
Leo Duru skipped past Rowley before picking out Luamba in the middle, and the forward made no mistake to extend Carlisle’s advantage to 4-1.
Scunthorpe managed to reduce the deficit during the second half to 4-2 to set up a tense finish at Brunton Park.
The Blues managed the closing stages well as Scunthorpe continued to push forward, before the full-time whistle confirmed another victory on home soil for Elliot’s side.
FULL-TIME: Carlisle United 4-2 Scunthorpe United
Teams:
Carlisle United: Desbois, Williams, Nicholson, Galvin, Ellis, Azeez, Bunker, Ajiboye, Linney, Kelly, Wearne
Subs: Mair, Feeney, Duru, Luamba, Skinner, Harper, Atkinson
Scunthorpe United: Jones, Denton, Horton, Evans, Barrows, Richards, Rowley, P. Jones, Butterfield, Parker, Gale
Subs: Campbell, Belehouan, Beestin, Starbuck, Brennan, Hurst, D. Howe
Goals:
Carlisle United: Azeez 7’, Linney 33’, Williams 38’, Luamba 68’
Scunthorpe United: Richards 28’, Barrows 84’
Yellow Cards:
Carlisle United: Linney, Elliot (Head Coach)
Scunthorpe United: J Gale, W Evans
Red Cards:
Carlisle United: Cudworth (Coach)
Scunthorpe United: N/A
Attendance: 7656 (452 away)
