THE return of talisman striker Lee Miller a month ahead of schedule following a long-term ankle injury has lifted morale at Carlisle United.

The Scottish striker was kept on the pitch well into the second half at Shrewsbury despite visibly struggling to keep his tried legs moving.

Manager Greg Abbott said. “We saw signs of what Lee can do with the way he teamed up with Joe Garner.

“A fit Lee Miller would probably have scored with the volley he had right at the end, but we’ve seen again what he brings to the side.

“He helps us to keep the ball at the other end for longer, which will also help us to bring a stop to the number of goals we concede.” The second egg in an otherwise empty Cumbrian basket is the away form, which has thus far kept their heads above water.

However, more questions will be asked following a timid defeat to one of the division’s genuine strugglers.

Goalscorer Liam Noble said: “We seem to play well and go behind anyway and that’s really frustrating.

“We were playing well and I don’t think they’d been anywhere near our 18-yard box.

“We’ve battered them and we’ve lost, so it’s hard to take.

“The positive is if we keep playing this way then we’ll be winning games.”

Jon Taylor rounded off a back-to-front, two-pass move when he crunched a Rodgers lay-off past the exposed Mark Gillespie, but things seemed to be back on track when Noble found the bottom corner following determination in midfield from Chris Chantler.