Yeovil Town 0 Carlisle United 1: It seems crazy to think Carlisle United are now on their best winning run since the autumn of 2016, when it seemed nobody could stop them. This season has taken a less predictable course, but could they now be about to finish it in grandstand style?

There is much work to do before loading Keith Curle's team with elaborate predictions. A six-point gap with 11 to play still needs a decent bridge to be built. But there can be no denying that the Blues are fighting like mad to keep this campaign alive.

Three wins in three now, this one earned by Hallam Hope's tidy finish, and next up a Grimsby side without a win in 14. In anyone's language that is bright form and also an opportunity to make it even better, before confronting some of League Two's better sides.

Against the lesser lights in 23rd, 24th and 17th positions, United have taken the maximum, which isn't as easy as it sounds when you consider other results in a potty fourth tier. Wycombe 2 Morecambe 4 and Lincoln 1 Crewe 4 are reminders to anyone who thinks there is a given in this most uncertain of divisions.

When you have zigzagged from defeats to wins as regularly as the Blues have in 2017/18, these recent returns could not be predicted, so they should be praised for making them happen. Chesterfield were put away without too much trouble, Barnet required a dramatic comeback, and here United dug out the game's only truly convincing finish.

In the process it took Hope into double figures for the campaign. The forward has returned to form on the left of United's midfield and was a man-of-the-match contender here, bustling infield to take on Darren Way's right-sided defenders and, in the 48th minute, nestling a decisive shot into the bottom corner of Yeovil's net.

Carlisle have spread their goals around on this mini-run. Hope's strike was his first since mid-December. "Arguably you'd say it's his textbook finish," Curle said. "He's got a habit of doing that. If you show him inside, he can take it. If you show him outside, he's got his pace. If you show him too much he will bend that ball in that far corner."

A back four staffed by centre-halves is also doing enough and, although Yeovil hit the post late on, those at the rear are earning their win bonuses right now. This was not a classic, on a bobbly pitch, but United should have made it more comfortable when they built strong pressure in the second half.

That came after an even, bitty first 45 minutes, on a surface which passed an inspection by ref Antony Coggins. One end of Huish Park was still hard, under covers and being blown by a heater, when the officials turned up.

Carlisle were spared a midweek return to these distant parts by Coggins' decision but the game that unfolded was not always easy on the eye, partly because of the uneven pitch generally, and also a lack of poise both ways.

Hope put an early shot wide and Rhys Browne failed to reach a Sam Surridge cross at the other end. Yeovil often sent the ball forward early, looking for Ryan Seager running off the shoulder and in the channels, and while this earned them some time in United territory, the Blues were a shade better in possession.

In the main, though, it was half-chances. Tom Parkes blocked a Browne shot, and a Luke Joyce attempt downfield met a similar end. The sight of Parkes shanking a ball out of play moments later brought a call to "settle" from the oldest head of all, Clint Hill.

Parkes built a better left-back performance from there, though United survived a scare when Omar Sowunmi beat Jack Bonham to a bouncing free-kick and lifted his shot over the bar. Hill, briefly off the pitch with a head injury, issued more firm words when he trotted back on.

United, seeking the line-leading height of Richie Bennett alongside Cole Stockton, were making only partial inroads. A set-piece nearly opened things up, but Bennett glanced Parkes' delivery off target. Seager then curled low and wide for Yeovil when Coggins played an advantage.

Although scrappy, the contest was not without these attacking moments. Hope controlled a fine Jamie Devitt pass and pumped it over the bar, while Bennett failed to divert a Parkes shot back towards goal. Surridge then fed Jake Gray with a lovely, curling pass but the home player couldn't take advantage.

That was Gray's last meaningful moment, for he then landed with a nasty-looking injury that required five minutes of treatment, a stretcher and, Way later reported, a knee brace. When things resumed, it was much the same, but Carlisle then started the second half with the right intent, and delivered the ultimate result.

With Mike Jones on for Kris Twardek, and Devitt moving to the right, Bennett could have scored seconds after the restart, but failed to finish with conviction after breaking onside. Hope then did, though, cutting in and placing his shot across keeper Jonny Maddison after a Devitt backheel had wrongfooted two Yeovil players in midfield and Joyce and Bennett had sent it on.

Although Yeovil are not League Two's most electric side, this was the first time they had conceded here in the league for more than five hours. The focus then shifted to the other end, where sub Otis Khan curled across goal, Oscar Gobern rattled one wide and Tom James flashed another cross beyond team-mates' reach.

It was hopeful, rather than decisive, and United, when they pressed Way's men more effectively, could easily have killed it. First, Jones dropped a diagonal ball on Devitt's toe and, on the right, his touch took him past Ryan Dickson and through on goal. His finish, though, was wayward.

Two minutes later, Hope came up with a facsimile of his first goal, other than the end result, for the post got in the way of this one. Ashley Nadesan, on for Bennett, then couldn't convert a Devitt pass.

United in this spell were winning second balls around Yeovil's box and denying them room to break. The fact they couldn't grab a second, though, kept the hosts interested, and their best route back was through the trickery and pace of sub Jordan Green.

Three worries resulted in the closing stages. First, Green zipped past Parkes but saw Khan miss his kick and then Gary Liddle clear Sowunmi's finish off the line.

Next, the sub showed great skill to turn away from defenders and feed Surridge, but Mark Ellis closed down the danger. Finally, a corner broke to Lewis Wing, and he could scarcely have struck his shot harder, but the left-hand post shook from the impact and Carlisle cleared their lines once more.

So ended a rewarding finish to a draining week, amounting to more than 1,200 miles for United's travelling fans. Their faith alone deserves this campaign's new burst of Hope.

Yeovil: Maddison, Wing, Dickson, Sowunmi, Gobern, Whelan, James, J Gray (Khan 45), Surridge, Seager (Green 56), Browne (Fisher 71). Not used: Nelson, Donnellan, Smith, Bird.

Booked: Browne

United Bonham, Liddle, Parkes, Ellis, Hill, Joyce, Devitt, Twardek (Jones 46), Hope, Bennett (Nadesan 64), Stockton (O'Sullivan 74). Not used: L Gray, Grainger, Campbell-Ryce, Lambe.

Goal: Hope 48

Ref: Antony Coggins

Crowd: 2,668 (162 Carlisle fans)