We welcome NFU Mutual as our sponsors for the Grimsby Town game on Tuesday night.
The NFU sponsor an evening fixture with us every season and it's always good to see them in our hospitality areas.
We hope they and their guests have a good night with us.
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September was a tough month for the Mariners as they suffered a run of five straight league defeats.
Spirits were lifted earlier in the month with a 2-1 home win over Notts County in a Checkatrade Trophy group game, but they were quickly brought back down to earth with heavy losses at the hands of Oldham and Bury.
Their campaign started well, with only one defeat in their first four league games, but you have to go back as far as 11 August to find their only win in the division so far - a 2-0 away success against Macclesfield Town.
Former-Blue Jordan Cook is definitely one to watch as he leads the way with two goals and one assist, with both of his strikes thus far coming away from home, against Macclesfield and MK Dons respectively.
Their last outing at the weekend saw Elliot Embleton set the game off on the right foot with a decent solo effort, with just nine minutes on the clock. A solid first half followed, but Morecambe struck back after the break with goals from Oates and Mandeville enough to secure the three points for the visitors.
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Manager’s thoughts ...
Speaking ahead of the game, United boss John Sheridan said: “Grimsby are a decent footballing side so I'm surprised they are where they are. I've watched them and they play some good football. Their results aren't a reflection of the way they've been playing so we can't take anything for granted.
"They'll be frustrated, and they need points, so I have no doubt they will make it difficult for us. ”
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Did You Know?
+ Traditionally, Grimsby were one of only two teams (the other being Hull City) who were allowed to play on Christmas Day due to the local fishing trade. The tradition has now disappeared.
+ In Grimsby’s 1939 FA Cup semi-final they were forced to play with an outfield player in goal for most of the match after stopper George Moulson picked up an injury, with rules forbidding substitutes for injuries.
+ Ex-Carlisle boss Bill Shankly managed at Blundell Park after he left the Cumbrians, before resigning in 1954 due to a lack of ambition from the board.
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Head to Head
These two sides have met on a total of 44 occasions over the years - spanning all the way back to the 1907/08 campaign when the Mariners registered a 6-2 FA Cup home victory over the fledgling Blues.
Grimsby hold the bragging rights by some considerable margin, with 22 victories compared to United's 11. Things have been better for the Cumbrians recently, particularly last season where they won both of the meetings between these teams.
| Carlisle wins | Draws | Grimsby wins | |
| League | 9 | 8 | 17 |
| FA Cup | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Cup | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| League Cup | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Total | 11 | 11 | 22 |
Our November trip to Blundell Park saw United give as good as they got in a tight game. Grimsby shaded the first half with the woodwork and some heroics from Jack Bonham to thank for a clean sheet. The deadlock was eventually broken when defender Clint Hill got on the end of a superb cross from Gary Liddle.
Watch the highlights from that game here:
Things were more comfortable in the home game with Hallam Hope opening the scoring with just three minutes on the clock. It was the perfect thank you to the fans who had turned up as early as 8am on match day to help to clear snow from the pitch, and the surrounding areas, to allow the game to go ahead. Mark Ellis secured the points with a close range header with just over 15 minutes left to play.
Watch the highlights from that game here:
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Man in the middle:
The referee for this game is Mr Martin Coy. Martin has taken charge of nine games so far this season, showing 21 yellow cards.
He was with us three times last season, with his first visit up north coming in August 2017 for our 3-0 home victory over Cheltenham. Tom Miller and Reggie Lambe added to a fifth minute own goal from Harry Pell, and Mark Ellis was the only Carlisle booking on the day.
We saw him again for our November Checkatrade Trophy group game against Fleetwood, where a certain Jack Sowerby opened the scoring on the night. Wes Burns doubled the lead just before half time, and a late Shaun Miller goal did little to affect the outcome as the visitors took the win come full time. Tom Miller and Jamie Devitt received yellow cards that night.
His last trip to Brunton Park was for our 2-2 draw with Crawley in March. Richie Bennett and Hallam Hope appeared to have done the job with goals to give us a 2-0 lead, but the Red Devils recovered and claimed their point courtesy of a brace from Kalen Grant. United names taken were Clint Hill, Hallam Hope and Tom Parkes.
Referee – Martin Coy
Assistant Referee 1 – Paul Newhouse
Assistant Referee 2 – Simon Clayton
Fourth Official – Geoffrey Liddle
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Ticket information:
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