Carlisle pegged back struggling Newport late on to claim a 1-1 draw at Rodney Parade.
Nathan Moriah-Welsh showed tenacity to ride a tackle and flick the ball over Carlisle goalkeeper Tomas Holy to break the deadlock for the Exiles after half an hour.
It was only the second time this season the Welsh side have scored the first goal of the match, but they could not hold on for a much-needed victory to take the pressure off manager James Rowberry.
Captain Corey Whelan, a late replacement after Morgan Feeney picked up an injury in the warm-up, rescued a point for the visitors 14 minutes from time.
The centre-back was in the right place at the right time to fire low into the net after County had failed to clear a corner.
Defender James Clarke almost reached a flick-on from a Mickey Demetriou long throw for the hosts on 82 minutes and Paul Huntington hooked a shot on to the bar at the other end in stoppage time.
Subscribe or register today to discover more from DonegalLive.ie
Buy the e-paper of the Donegal Democrat, Donegal People's Press, Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles.
Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm.