Two goals inside three minutes stopped a brave Carlisle in their tracks as they went down at Scunthorpe.
One consolation for Carlisle was that they broke their goalscoring duck, after five successive blank sheets.
Scunthorpe boss Brian Laws was delighted with only his side's second win of the season and said: "This was thoroughly deserved but I was disappointed with the way we gave away the goal.
"It was nerve-racking at times, but a win was important for our confidence and our morale has never dropped."
Scunthorpe had the visitors pinned back on the 18-yard line in the early stages and Danny Naisbitt saved easily from a Steve Torpey header when it looked easier to score.
Scott Brough went close and a fine cross by Matt Sparrow was a shade too high for Martin Carruthers to reach.
When Carlisle made their first break, in the 12th minute, Trevor Molloy floated in a free kick and Richie Foran should have made better use of the opportunity.
Scunthorpe's better possession paid dividends a minute later when a Wayne Graves' shot was parried and the ball fell to Torpey who sidefooted home from close range.
The visitors then had two pieces of luck as successive shots from Brough and Carruthers were deflected away from the goalmouth.
After having survived all the pressure, Carlisle shook Scunthorpe with a 24th minute equaliser, their first goal in six outings.
They won a corner on the left and new man David Freeman knocked in the flag-kick to the right-hand post where Foran stole in to head home.
Although Scunthorpe grabbed the initiative back, Andy Dawson rattled the bar with a free kick and Alex Calvo-Garcia headed over before the break, they had to wait some time before making sure.
The Iron set about the task again with enthusiasm and Brough, who was having an excellent game, created space before cracking the ball against a post and Sparrow came into the action only to clip a shot over.
Carruthers restored Scunthorpe's lead in the 73rd minute when he lifted the ball over Naisbitt's head and two minutes later Torpey turned his marker brilliantly to hammer home number three.
Carlisle boss Roddy Collins was most unhappy with the booking of Foran for an alleged foul on Scunthorpe keeper Tommy Evans, but was pleased with the way his side performed overall, despite conceding two late goals