United hosted League One side Shrewsbury Town in the second round of this season's Emirates FA Cup competition on Saturday afternoon.
And boss Keith Millen made three changes from Tuesday night with Brennan Dickenson back from his dead leg lay-off in place of Jordan Gibson.
Brad Young was in up front at the expense of Sam Fishburn, and Corey Whelan came back into the middle of the park as Jon Mellish served out the last match of his three-game suspension.
What appeared to be a foul on McDonald was ignored by the assistant referee early in the piece, and Shrews striker Ryan Bowman was allowed to chase onwards into the box. Mellor got in the way to prevent Bloxham from getting a touch as the ball came low.
Udoh recycled it and he spread it wide for Bloxham to cross. It skipped across the face of goal and a weak effort eventually fell kindly for Howard to gather.
Carlisle were on the attack with Clough on the right flank and his clipped pass put Abrahams into the area. Marosi closed the space down quickly to make a point blank save, and the follow ups from Dickenson and Young were charged down.
The away side took the lead on 10 minutes when Ogbeta overlapped to pull it back into the mix, having received a sliderule pass from Leahy. It was allowed to run free and Bloxham took a touch before drilling a powerful shot low and through legs. It took a deflection and Howard stood no chance as it flew over the line.
Howard then saved a close range volley from Bowman, and Feeney got his head to a piledriver from Ogbeta as Shrewsbury attacked in numbers, but United should have been level on the quarter hour when when Marosi came out of his box to deal with a long ball forward.
He scuffed his kick, and Young skipped past him, bringing the crowd to its feet. He had Abrahams to his left, but he chose to try to go it alone and the moment was gone as he was quickly tackled.
Alertness from Abrahams saw him nick the ball from Pennington with his back to goal as the blue shirts battled hard, and he spotted Whelan in space. Dickenson took over, and Marosi had to go full stretch to tip a 20-yard stinger past the upright.
Pennington cynically chopped through the back of Guy when the skipper had burst clean through with a powerful run from the centre circle, and Clough took charge of the 19-yard free kick. That came back off the wall, and the same player had a second attempt smothered.
Kelvin Mellor had to leave the field on 27 minutes, and that meant a reshuffle as Corey Whelan slipped into the right back position. Danny Devine was brought on in midfield.
The Shrews were on the front-foot again on 28 minutes when Daniels made an extra man on the right. His cross was met by Ogbeta, but a wayward volley bulged the side netting.
There was action at both ends and Abrahams guided a ball through for Clough to hit as he arrived late. Leahy did well to take the sting out of it, but it looped up high, and Abrahams was suddenly interested. He met it with a firm header but it dropped onto the roof of the net.
Feeney was in the right place at the right time when Bennett beat the offside trap to centre. The defender had to get it right as Bowman looked to gobble up the scraps.
Gibson blazed a free kick from distance over the bar and into the Warwick just before the break, and it was the away team who held the lead as they headed up the tunnel.
Carlisle camped forward for a long spell at the start of the second period and Abrahams had an instinctive effort blocked as he tried his luck after a Gibson cross had pinged his way.
Guy fed Dickenson in the next attack but his cruncher struck Pennington and whistled wide. A difficult volley fell to Devine on the 18-yard line, and that was dealt with before Marosi had to get involved.
Things became tight, and Guy sent one over the bar as United looked to pick things up in front of goal. Charters then dropped a shoulder to create room, and his delivery ripped across the face of the target. Fishburn launched himself at it but he couldn't quite get there.
A long range drive from Devine with 15 minutes left to go took a deflection, but the resulting corner was cleared.
But it was Shrewsbury who found the nets moments later when Ogbeta turned with the ball at his feet on the halfway line. An accurate pass unlocked things for Bowman, and he dropped a shoulder before prodding the ball into the bottom corner.
Marosi had to scoop up a rasper from Mampala at the second attempt, after it had initially spilled from his clutches, and Gibson almost found a way through as he bobbed and weaved. A corner was won, and McDonald had his head in his hands as he nodded wide having shrugged off his marker.
Carlisle gave themselves late hope when Gibson angled his run before producing a stunning finish in the first minute of time added on, but it proved to be just too late as the Salop restarted the game, keeping the hosts at arm's length to see their victory through.
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Match sponsors
Associate Sponsor - Milbourne Arms
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Match Ball Sponsor - Kingmoor Park
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Goals
Carlisle United - Gibson (90+1)
Shrewsbury Town - Bloxham (10), Bowman (78)
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Bookings
Carlisle United - Whelan (8), Clough (30), Feeney (60)
Shrewsbury Town - Pennington (22), Vela (49), Udoh (54)
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Teams
Carlisle United - Howard, Mellor (Devine 27), Feeney, McDonald, Armer, Clough (Gibson 35), Guy (c), Whelan, Dickenson (Fishburn 61), Abrahams (Mampala 61), Young (Charters 61). Subs - Breeze (gk), Dinzeyi, Bell, Ellis.
Shrewsbury Town - Marosi, Leahy, Ebanks-Landell (c) (Daniels 21), Pennington, Vela, Udoh (Cosgrove 85), Bowman, Ogbeta (Caton 85), Bennett, Bloxham (Leshabela 89), Nurse. Subs - Burgoyne (gk), Wilson, Kaninda, Craig.
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Match officials
Referee – Samuel Barrott
Assistant Referee – Daniel Woodward (late replacement Lee Freeman)
Assistant Referee – Paul Newhouse
Fourth Official – James Bancroft
Observer – James Devine
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Attendance - 2,794 (351)