John Ward stuck with his preferred 5-4-1 formation for the trip to the Matchroom Stadium - a venue that has not been too kind to United in the recent past - with Scott Dobie making a welcome return to the bench following his recent bout of illness.

United kept the ball well in the opening exchanges and patient football opened a route to goal in the 2nd minute. Raven and Taylor took it down the right, before Graham slid a neat pass back towards Lumsdon. His cross, from deep, curled towards the penalty spot, and Bridge-Wilkinson dived low in attempt to get the touch that would take it beyond Morris in the Orient goal.

Danny Graham showed strength on 5 minutes when he won a long ball forward from Horwood before racing on to his own flick on. Taylor was in space, but he rushed his shot, dragging it well wide of the target.

Excellent football took the visitors clear again 60 seconds later when a flowing move, started by Raven, took Graham on the overlap. He crossed early, and Thelwell was in quickly to block Bridge-Wilkinson, just as he shaped to shoot.

Bridge-Wilkinson sent a 25-yarder over the bar as he continued to provide the link between midfield and attack, but the early hard work was almost undone when Orient raced forward from a quick free-kick on 10 minutes. Demetriou sent it in, and Thornton was millimetres away from poking it in to the waiting net.

The early pressure from the Cumbrians was made to count in the 17th minute when a superb move was rounded off by a crisp header from Danny Graham. It started on the right, with Taylor, Bridge-Wilkinson and Lumsdon keeping hold of the ball, under pressure. Lumsdon moved clear and screamed for it, and his whipped cross was on a plate for the Carlisle front man, who was able to bury it in the bottom corner.

The attacking play was coming from the Cumbrians, and Bridge-Wilkinson skipped past two challenges in the 23rd minute, before lofting a difficult cross in to the box. Saah had to stoop low to clear it, and Bridge-Wilkinson was there again, putting a deflected shot behind for a corner.

Peter Murphy put a 28-yard free kick right at Morris on 26 minutes, but the second goal wasn't too long in coming for United as they broke quickly from their own half. Taylor and Raven helped it in to Grant Smith, and his blocked shot, from the edge of the box, seemed to hang in the air for an age. With Orient content to watch, David Raven stepped up to score his first for the club with a blistering drive from just 12 yards out.

JJ Melligan received a straight red card for a horrible tackle on Horwood in the 33rd minute, making the task even harder for an Orient team who were struggling to get any kind of hold on the game.

The Cumbrians had one ruled out in the 38th minute, as they looked like scoring with every attack, when Danny Graham was judged to be offside, just as he nodded it home, and the blue shirts will be annoyed that they didn't make more of a Simon Hackney free-kick when he put it in to the 6-yard box, just in front of the advancing line of players.

Half Time: Orient 0 - 2 United

United came out of the blocks for the second half in dominant mood, and Cleveland Taylor was first to test Morris with a stinging shot at his near post. The keeper got down to it, putting it behind for a corner.

Carlisle made it 3-0 in the 49th minute, though, with another incisive break from their own half. Bridge-Wilkinson carried it forward, edging it to Grant Smith with the outside of his boot. The big midfielder, in a 'and Smith must score' moment, set himself and stroked it beyond the helpless Morris in the Orient goal.

The home side were showing very little, with a 54th minute cross from Gray the only real threat, and it was United who should have scored again on the hour mark. Bridge-Wilkinson carved the defence open with a precise pass, but Hackney was guilty of a wayward finish when he had time to do better.

Bridge-Wilkinson sent a 17-yarder over the bar in the next attack, when he linked with Graham, and the same pairing caused all sorts of problems again 30 seconds later when Graham picked up possession on the left. His cut back sat nicely for the midfielder, but Morris was across to palm the shot away for a corner.

Danny Graham was unlucky not to put one away with his last touch of the game, when Taylor fizzed the ball towards the far post, but his toe poke put it behind, under pressure from Chambers. It just wasn't Hackney's game in front of goal, and he sprayed another one wide on 70 minutes when the blue shirts played keep-ball. Off balance, he watched in agony as his poor effort skewed wide.

Hackney was at it again on 71 minutes, forcing Morris in to a double-save as the big keeper struggled to keep hold of the initial shot.

Orient finally registered a shot on target in the 76th minute when Ibehre muscled his way through a tight situation in the box. Falling over, he threw his boot at the ball and sent it through the gaggle, but right at Westwood.

It was almost a dream moment for Gary Madine in the 80th minute when he wrapped his boot around a 23-yard shot, sending it towards the bottom corner. Morris was across sharply, and he got just enough on it to parry it away from the advancing Grant Smith.

Scott Dobie was next in the queue, but his glancing header was always spinning away as he rose to meet a wonderful Grant Smith cross. The 90 minutes ended with a perfect cameo of what the game had been about from United, with almost every player touching the ball as they moved it from defence to attack. Grant Smith tried to find the top corner, but he under-hit it and left an easy save for Morris.

Ibehre and Purches had decent attempts for the O's in time added on, but it was a Carlisle United masterclass that secured a very important 3 points from what had been a completely dominant and cultured 90 minutes of play.

Goals

United - Graham (17), Raven (32), G Smith (49)

Bookings

Orient - Melligan (sent off, 33), Terry (33), Chambers (50), Daniels (86)

United - Murphy (79)

Teams 

Orient - Morris, Thelwell (Daniels 62), Saah, Melligan, Chambers, Gray, Thornton (Purches 46), Terry, Boyd (Ibehre 46), Palmer, Demetriou. Subs - Nelson, Barcham.

United - Westwood, Raven, Livesey, Murphy, Horwood, Taylor (Carlton 75), Lumsdon, Bridge-Wilkinson (Madine 82), G Smith, Hackney, Graham (Dobie 64). Subs - Howarth, Arnison.

Away fans - 890