The oft used phrase - 'I've never seen the likes of this before' - can be trotted out a bit too much in football but, I can honestly say, never a truer word was spoken tonight.

The most amazing penalty shoot out this club has ever been involved in saw all eleven of United's players take a spot kick as they overcame Tranmere, on their own ground and at the end packed with their own fans. It seems that we just can't miss a penalty this season, whoever takes them, and that was what saw us through this tough away tie in the competition that likes being kind to us.

Paul Simpson was forced to make two changes from the team that completed a second half turn around against Wrexham on Saturday as on loan striker Michael Bridges was cup tied, and defender Danny Livesey failed to recover from a Monday morning ankle twist.

Simon Grand came in to the heart of the back line to make his third start of the season and Derek Holmes returned to his familiar slot beside Karl Hawley in attack.

It was a tense home atmosphere as the Tranmere fans hoped to see a recovery from a run of 8 games that had seen them concede 16 goals, and that contributed to a nervy start that saw the League One side try to force the pace without quite managing to do enough.

A good move in the 6th minute saw Davies collect a pass outside the area and he cut inside Arnison before trying his luck from 12 yards. Westwood went down for the fierce drive, and appeared to have it covered as it flew in to the side netting.

United's first sniff at the other end came when Lumsdon clipped a free kick towards the front post for Holmes to get after in the 10th minute. The defence had tracked his run and two rose to get to the ball, sending it behind for a corner.

In an opening 15 minutes of half chances Aiston was next to cause trouble as he wound his way beyond two players before getting a dangerous cross towards the centre of the area. Davies jumped highest and connected, but Gray was on hand to clear the danger.

Working away patiently up front Hawley found himself behind the Tranmere defenders in the 15th minute as he timed a run to perfection. Unfortunately the ball seemed to bobble and he couldn't capitalise, having to watch the opportunity dwindle away to nothing.

Carlisle had to be content with playing on the break and it almost brought a goal in the 17th minute when a scuffed clearance came to the feet of Aranalde, 18 yards out. With a clear path to goal he went for an early shot, sending Wilson down to his left where he was able to gather at the first attempt.

Sam Aiston can be a devastating player on his day and he had an influential 10 minute period in the middle of the half that should really have brought a goal.

On 18 minutes he tried to go it alone as he broke through the middle, but was left disappointed as the ball bounced off Grand and away from the target.

Karl Hawley had a brief sight of the nets in Carlisle's next attack and, although it was a wonderful piece of skill to trap the ball and make the space, he was quickly closed down and the chance was gone.

Aiston showed his pace on 24 minutes when he helped to break up a United attack and then set off towards Keiren Westwood. He went past Murphy before angling a deep cross towards the back post where Facey, arriving at pace, was able to meet it with his forehead. Westwood stood tall and parried it down for Gray to sweep away for a corner.

It was the nippy Aiston himself who should have opened the scoring in the 26th minute when a huge kick from Wilson was flicked on by Davies. It skipped through to Aiston, just inside the 18 yard area, but he took his eye off the ball and choked his shot, much to the relief of the recovering Cumbrian defenders.

It was a decent spell for the home side and a string of corners finally ended with Facey trying to dig out a shot from beneath his feet with Gray and Grand refusing to let anything get past. Westwood kept his eye on it and plucked it from beneath the bar, ignoring the power that had been put behind it.

Tranmere were definitely having the better of the half but they almost went behind on two occasions, the first one being one of those comedy moments that can often cost a side dear. A seemingly harmless ball in to the box in the 35th minute found Wilson, Linwood and Jackson hesitate as they each waited for the other to deal with it. As panic set in Wilson raced forward and lashed it against Jackson, leaving the defender with no chance of getting out of the way. The rebound could have gone anywhere and, as it happens, it was only a matter of inches the wrong side of the post.

Karl Hawley made the most of a sluggish home defence when they stood off him in the 42nd minute, inviting him to shoot. Brian Little won't have been pleased as our top scorer was allowed to line up his shot, sending Wilson scrambling to his right. The keeper got there but was left in a flap as he had to gather the ball as it threatened to slip away.

Davies had the last chance of a half that had seen Tranmere take the possession without taking the initiative as Carlisle continued to defend doggedly. He got on the end of a Roberts free kick but was thwarted by Grand, who spread himself bravely.

Half Time: Tranmere 0 - 0 United

Simon Hackney joined the fray for the second half as Kevin Gray was kept in the dressing room as a precautionary measure. Peter Murphy moved to the centre of the defence as Aranalde dropped to left back to accommodate the change.

As expected, Tranmere came out fired up but they still couldn't make any headway against a resolute Cumbrian wall.

In fact, it was to be the visitors who would create the better of the opening opportunities as McGill and Arnison combined on the wing. McGill was able to jink his way through two before trying a drive with his weaker foot that bounced wide of the post. On 52 minutes it was Holmes and Hackney who combined for the latter to have his moment of glory cut short by a well timed tackle from Jackson.

Two great chances came the way of Tranmere in a frantic 3 minutes when Facey, who was on the end of both of them, will feel that he should definitely have converted one of them. The first was a superb cross from the wing that found the big striker in a good heading position. He got plenty on it but couldn't beat either Westwood or the bar, who both got a piece of the ball. The second opportunity, probably even better than the first, saw a long Linwood throw evade everyone but Facey. He had acres of space and plenty of time but, from only 12 yards, somehow couldn't find the accuracy to trouble Westwood.

Roberts was finding some great deliveries and Lumsdon had to demonstrate his defensive abilities in the 60th minute when a free kick, swung towards the near post, looked dangerous. A strong header brought an end to the move.

The tempo was up for both teams and Davies tried to get himself through the middle, executing a weak shot that dribbled towards Westwood. As Carlisle got the ball back a wonderful Arnison cross was flicked onwards by Hawley, giving Hackney the chance to shoot. He seemed to hesitate which let Sharps get the block in.

It appeared that nobody wanted the game to go to extra time as the pace of the game increased and Tranmere were left empty handed following a flurry of activity for Westwood. Aiston and Davies had opened things up well bringing a flat punch from Westwood that fell nicely for Tremarco. He opted for precision, trying to loft it over the keeper, but he had moved his position quickly and was able to deal with the lob.

On 71 minutes Facey raced away as Carlisle were pushed forward in numbers and he found himself with just Westwood in the way. A disappointing shot was pushed away and Harrison, following in, thought he had his name in lights. Westwood, who really is making the keeper shirt his own, reacted athletically to maintain his clean sheet.

One of the leading lights of the Cumbrian's good football these past few months has been Paul Arnison with his crosses, in particular, causing all sorts of problems for the opposition. It was one of these in the 74th minute that gave Holmes something to work on. He flicked it to McGill who rifled a bullet of a volley a matter of millimetres over the bar.

Less than 60 seconds later the whole stadium was left applauding a fantastic footballing move that started with a great piece of trickery from Aranalde. He dragged the ball back and cut two defenders in half with a slide rule pass that released Hackney on the wing. He got to the bye line before crashing a driven cross towards the 6 yard box. Lumsdon, sneaking in unmarked, was on hand to head it and he was as close as he ever will be to scoring the second headed goal of his career.

Paul Arnison had a decent left foot shot that flew over in the 80th minute and both sides went back to probing for the last 10 minutes as Davies and Harrison had shots blocked at one end with Glenn Murray, Lumsdon and Hawley having the same end result at the other.

An intriguing 90 minutes came to a close with extra time beckoning to decide who would go through to the last 4 in the Northern Section.

Full Time: Tranmere 0 - 0 United

Steve Jennings tried to get the added 30 minutes off to a pulsating start when he found Arnison and Grand stepping back from his run. He got full power on his shot but found the wrong side of the netting with Westwood diving to cover.

A subdued opening period was summed up when Davies ran on to a good pass and, just as he found a shooting position, he also found that Delroy Facey had chosen completely the wrong angle to run on and did the job of the defence for them.

Both managers made late substitutions in an attempt to spice things up but the game had lost the flow of the previous 90 minutes with speculative rather than decisive efforts.

Having said that, the 117th minute saw a quick break from United that involved Hawley and Lumsdon as they started things off in their own half. Holding the ball well, Lumsdon timed his cross to meet the far post run of the striker and the header came agonisingly back off the inside the woodwork as the Blue travelling fans set themselves to celebrate.

It injected some life in to proceedings and Tremarco used possession well, slipping Jennings in to the gap. A rasping low drive arrowed itself at the bottom corner and Westwood, who must have been unsighted until late, got down and pulled off a top quality save to send it away for a corner.

The 122nd minute brought a chance at either end when Brown took the ball and ran at the heart of Carlisle. He could have shot for himself but he saw Whitmore in a better position and gave the moment to him. A weak, lack lustre punt was then gratefully picked up by Westwood.

Arnison immediately showed out wide for Carlisle and he was given the ball, choosing to cross in to a packed area. Lumsdon was the one who wanted it most but it dropped nicely for Wilson.

United had to reconfigure with 5 minutes to go as Simon Grand pulled up with a severe bout of cramp. Arnison moved in to the middle to cover for him as Nade dropped back to make up the makeshift back four. 

In what would have been a real twist to the tale right at the end a patient build up involving Hackney and Aranalde on the left brought a crossing opportunity that came on to the head of the limping Simon Grand. He did well, but Wilson was able to pluck it out of the air.

It was the last action of the evening as Carlisle found themselves involved in yet another penalty shoot out.

Penalties

Tranmere (shooting first) 

Davies - plenty of power, 1-0

Facey - another cracker, 2-1

Jennings - high in to the net, 3-2

Roberts - crashed through the middle, 4-3

Brown - another good one, 5-4

Harrison - no mistake, 6-5

Linwood - another high one, 7-6

Whitmore - very, very good, 8-7

Jackson - it could go on forever, 9-8

Sharps - unbelievable, 10 - 9

Wilson - keeper screws it well wide, 10 - 10

United

Lumsdon - crisp and clean, 1-1

Hawley - well placed, 2-2

Murphy - no chance for the keeper, 3-3

Arnison - he knew what he was doing, 4-4

Aranalde - smasher, 5-5

Billy - pressure was on and the confidence came through, 6-6

Westwood - should be a striker, 7-7

Glenn Murray - crept in, 8-8

Hackney - young head, very cool, 9-9

Nade - very precise, 10-10

Grand - suffering but strong, 11-10

Penalty hero ... yet again

Bookings

Tranmere - Aiston (44), Harrison (76)

Teams

Tranmere - Wilson, Linwood, Jackson, Sharps, Roberts, Aiston (Brown 82), Jennings, Harrison, Tremarco (Whitmore 101), Davies, Facey. Not Used - Rankine, Palethorpe, McAteer.

United - Westwood, Arnison, Grand, Gray (Hackney 45), Murphy, McGill (Nade 103), Billy, Lumsdon, Aranalde, Holmes (G Murray 77), Hawley. Not Used - Williams, A Murray.

Travelling Fans - 367