County go in search of a third win in four league games on Tuesday night, as we take on play-off hopefuls Carlisle United under the lights at Edgeley Park.
A superb performance at Salford on Saturday saw us record a second successive win away from home, following victory at Bradford a fortnight ago. It was also the first time this season we have won a game by more than a solitary goal, thanks to Paddy Madden’s second-half strike.
Although we remained in 16th place following that win, those big three points saw us move six points clear of Hartlepool and Colchester in the relegation zone, whilst cutting the gap to the play-offs down to nine points.
It’s tomorrow’s opponents, Carlisle, who currently occupy that final play-off spot – they suffered just a second league defeat of the season at the weekend, beaten 3-2 at home by league leaders Leyton Orient in a game that saw the Cumbrians reduced to ten men in the first-half.
In an incredibly congested top half of the table, a win on Tuesday could see them end the night as high as fourth, whilst defeat could see them drop as low down as 12th should other results go against them.
Coming to the game on Tuesday? Click here to view our Fan Information pack, containing all you need to know ahead of your visit to Edgeley Park.
Our Opponents:
Prior to that defeat against table-topping Orient, Carlisle were flying high under former County boss Paul Simpson – nine unbeaten in League Two despite dealing with a number of injuries, as they bid for a return to League One for the first time since 2014.
Simpson is regarded as a legend at Brunton Park, having led them to back-to-back promotions from the Conference to League One during his first spell in charge of the Club before leaving to join Preston North End.
He returned to his hometown Club last February with the side embroiled in a relegation battle – a run of three points from eight games leaving them in the bottom two when he took over and facing a possible return to non-league for the first time since 2005.
He oversaw a remarkable instant turnaround, winning six of his first seven games back in charge to pull them 15 points clear of danger, all but securing their safety for another season – they eventually finished in 20th place, but closer to the top half than the relegation zone.
The Cumbrians have carried that momentum forward into the new season and look well set to challenge at the top end of the table this time round. Their only defeats so far this season have come against the top two in Stevenage and Leyton Orient and even with ten men, they gave the O’s a real scare on Saturday.
Striker Ryan Edmondson was the man who saw red in that game, just 20 minutes after grabbing his first goal of the season. It represents another blow to a Carlisle side who have suffered a number of recent injuries amongst their forward ranks – former County loanee Jack Stretton was the latest addition to the injury list last week, although he may be back in contention for this game.
One to watch:
One man County fans will know all about on Tuesday night is Carlisle’s in-form front man, Kristian Dennis. The 32-year-old scored 25 goals in 70 appearances for County between 2013-15 after joining from Curzon Ashton and has since gone on to enjoy spells at Macclesfield, Chesterfield, Notts County and St Mirren.
Dennis joined Carlisle in January and has enjoyed an exceptional start to the new season, scoring seven goals in just 13 League Two appearances. It already represents his best scoring season since hitting 13 for Notts County in 2019/20 and he will be looking to make his mark on his first return to Edgeley Park.
Match Stats:
- This will be the first meeting between the two sides since a 0-0 draw at Brunton Park in January 2010. In 82 previous meetings between the two Clubs, both sides have won 33 games each.
- On Saturday, Paddy Madden became the first County player to score in four successive EFL games since Anthony Elding scored in five successive matches back in 2007.
- County haven’t lost consecutive home league games since defeats to Aldershot and Torquay United in September 2019.
