It was a meeting between two of the division's form teams on Tuesday night as the Blues headed to Sixfields.
The game had been quickly rearranged due to its weather postponement at the weekend, and a 17-day gap from the last outing had duly been created with the Blues having lost the Barrow home game to the cold snap the weekend before.
Manager Paul Simpson made two changes from the Sutton fixture, with Taylor Charters in for Jordan Gibson, and Morgan Feeney in for the injured Jon Mellish.
Joel Senior was back into the match day squad for the first time since he ruptured his ACL back in February, having featured in two reserve outings ahead of the big freeze.
A flick over the top from Armer caught Sherring by surprise as the Blues started brightly and the centre back found himself chasing Edmondson as the forward ran towards the box. The cross bobbled off the surface and it was hooked clear before Dennis could get a touch.
Northampton responded with a flowing move that saw Fox and Leonard bounce off McWilliams to make space. Holy was all over the low delivery when it came.
Huntington sparked an attack with a thumping headed clearance and Edmondson turned Sherring once again to get into a good position. He dropped a shoulder to get through two defenders but his driven 19-yard effort wasn't too far away from the bottom corner.
The Cobblers had a corner on 14 minutes after Appere sent on high to the back stick. The initial delivery was cleared and McGowan popped his header from a cross wide of the upright.
United had more defending to do as McGowan got forward again, but a misplaced pass from Guy invited Bowie to shoot. He was quickly charged down.
Carlisle almost opened the door on 23 minutes when Moxon tackled to regain possession midway inside the home half. Ellis looked to cushion his volley but he put just too much on it and the keeper was able to make it his own.
Northampton got a corner from nowhere on 27 minutes when Whelan took a throw in the direction of Holy. He slipped, and the ball bobbled behind, but the defence stood strong to deal with the moment.
Holy had to be at his best just before the break when Bowie beat the offside trap to burst down the right. He centred for Hoskins to strike, but Holy spread himself to make a fine save. Feeney was on hand to complete the clearance.
The Blues had a corner in time added on for the period but it was cut out at the front stick. The Cobblers broke, and a shot from McGowan was blocked, with the resulting set piece also calmed down by the away team.
Northampton had the early second half pressure and Appere won a corner when he wriggled and tussled at a tight angle. Nothing came of it, with Whelan first with the covering header.
It was Carlisle who took the lead when Armer nodded for Edmondson to touch. A delivery came in, but Dennis missed his kick. More touches from blue shirts kept it alive, with Charters unlucky as his punt came off a boot. It then ballooned off a Moxon volley as it dropped for Ellis, and he ignored the offside appeals as he sent it back across the face of goal. Armer was there to net his first of the season.
But the lead was short lived as a corner was met on the leap by the unmarked Sam Sherring. His downward header skipped off the greasy surface and somehow made its way over the line.
The home side should have taken the lead when McWilliams raced clear down the right flank. He centred, Appere checked with the ball at his feet, but he blazed high when he had the goal at his mercy.
The hosts went ahead with their next attack when Huntington scuffed a back pass. Appere made immediate amends as he slotted it into the waiting net.
Things quietened down for a spell, and that brought a triple substitution from United as Devitt, Gibson and Sho-Silva entered the field of play.
Huntington was needed for an excellent sliding challenge as Bowie threatened, and Holy punched the inswinging corner out of the box.
Carlisle looked to build up a head of steam but the ball was lost or misplaced at key moments and in key areas, with frustration suddenly the order of the day.
There was a real chance for an equaliser when a Moxon corner was only sent as far as Guy. He kept it moving, and Moxon arrived to dink it into space. Feeney tried to connect, nine yards out, but he couldn't get enough on it and Burge was able to gather it in.
Sho-Silva had it in the net late in the day, but Huntington was judged to be offside as he won the header from Moxon's free kick.
Burge then had to save from a diving Devitt lunge after Gibson had teased the defence. His piledriver spun and swirled but the touch from the substitute once again didn't quite have the pace it needed.
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Goals
Northampton Town - Sherring (53), Appere (56)
Carlisle United - Armer (50)
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Bookings
Northampton Town - Fox (45), Burge (83), McGowan (87)
Carlisle United - Whelan (41), Armer (81)
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Teams
Northampton Town - Burge, McGowan, Guthrie (c), Sherring, Hoskins, Fox, Appere (Hylton 86), Leonard, McWilliams (Pinnock 75), Bowie (Magloire 90), Odimayo. Subs - Maxted (gk), Harrop, Eppiah, Haynes.
Carlisle United - Holy, Feeney (c), Huntington, Whelan (Devitt 70), Ellis, Moxon, Guy, Charters (Gibson 69), Armer, Dennis (Stretton 62), Edmondson (Sho-Silva 70). Subs - Kelly, Senior, Harris.
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Match officials
Referee - James Oldham
Assistant Referee 1 - Christopher Husband
Assistant Referee 2 - Andrew Hendley
Fourth Official - Ryan Whitaker
Observer - Kevin Wright
Coach - Michael Murphy
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Attendance - 4,583 (225)