Carlisle United kick off their 2018/19 campaign with a whopping 694-mile round trip to St James Park to face Exeter City on Saturday afternoon.
The teams are no strangers to each other, having locked horns six times in the last two seasons, with no less than 24 goals having been scored over the course of those thrilling encounters.
United boss John Sheridan heads into the game in confident mood. Speaking at this week’s pre-match press conference, he said:“Getting off to a good start helps to put confidence in the team and it brings a bit of belief.”
“It’s not the be-all and end-all if you lose the first game, but it does give you a lift if you’ve won it for when you then come into your first game at home.
“Maybe people aren’t expecting us to go and get something from Exeter, but I am. Whatever the result, it’s important for us to go out and try to start well. Hopefully all of the hard work that’s been done will pay off.”
We'll have more from the manager as we build up to this weekend's game.
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New man in charge
Former-Exeter, Charlton and Cheltenham defender Matt Taylor took the Grecian reins in the summer following the departure of long-serving boss Paul Tisdale. The new era under Taylor begins this weekend with a familiar face beside him in the dugout as his assistant, as United’s former academy manager Eric Kinder now appointed as number two at St James Park. Expectancy levels are high in the south west with Exeter having lost out in the play off final in both of the last two seasons.
Ins and Outs
There was a fair bit of movement in the summer with popular captain Jordan Moore-Taylor one of the first to leave having triggered a non-promotion clause in his contract. Midfielder Lloyd James moved to Forest Green, whilst Robbie Simpson and Ryan Harley also followed their former-boss to MK Dons. Coming the other way were defender Aaron Martin from Oxford, striker Jonathan Forte from Notts County [who may miss out due to a broken bone in his hand], midfielder Nicky Law from Bradford, Lee Martin from Gillingham, Jimmy Oates from Hereford and Tristan Abrahams from Norwich.
Did You Know?
+ Exeter’s home ground of St. James’ Park was previously an old field used for fattening pigs, with football played on the ground since 1904.
+ The Grecians are accepted as the first side to play a national team from Brazil as part of a tour to South America in 1914 to help promote football in the continent.
+ Famous fans of the club include TV presenter Noel Edmonds and Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, while in 2002 Michael Jackson was made an honorary director.
Head to Head
The sides have met a total of 60 times in all competitions with United having won 19 and drawn 17 of those clashes.
|
|
Exeter wins |
Draws |
Carlisle wins |
|
League |
23 |
16 |
19 |
|
Cup |
1 |
1 |
0 |
|
Total |
24 |
17 |
19 |
Our last meeting was a 1-1 draw in Exeter towards the end of last season, with Ashley Nadesan scoring the Carlisle goal in what was a very keenly fought game.
Watch the highlights from that game here:
Ticket information:
At time of going to press, United have sold 144 away tickets for this fixture.
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