An unbelievable FA Cup run for Michael Flynn and his team has captured all of the headlines so far this season - and rightly so - but the Exiles showed that they weren't about to be completely sidetracked with a stunning victory at Notts County just days after their fifth round exit at the hands of Premier League giants Manchester City.
That brought a return to winning ways and announced intentions of an assault on the top seven places as they look to add more gloss to what has already been an enthralling campaign.
County wings were clipped by their second defeat of the month away at high-flying MK Dons at the weekend, so they'll be looking to bounce back immediately when they return home to host the Blues on Saturday.
You don't have to look far for goals when it comes to the Exiles with the in-form Padraig Amond, who has 19 in all competitions to his name, backed up admirably by Jamille Matt. His 14 mean the pair have a whopping 33 finishes between them.
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Manager’s thoughts ...
Speaking ahead of the weekend game, manager Steven Pressley said: "Newport have shown that they're a very good side against some really top class opposition this season.
"Their goal threat is as potent as any in this division and they can attack direct, or they can play football. That means you have to be ready to deal with the crosses and deliveries into your area, but you also have to keep an eye on the way they can move the ball through different areas of the pitch.
"As ever we look to go there to impose our game on them and I think it's really important, particularly at this stage of the season, for us to concentrate on what we can do, and on how we can affect games.
"We've seen over the last few fixtures that the players are buying in to what we're asking them to do, and we're showing that we can match teams in all areas.
"The key now is to turn the good performances into positive results. We can start that by getting back to winning ways this weekend. That's certainly what we're going to Newport to achieve."
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Did You Know?
+ The Exiles reached the quarter-finals of the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1980/81, having qualified after winning the Welsh Cup.
+ Newport were originally nicknamed ‘The Ironmongers’ due to the steel works present in the area during the early 20th century.
+ In 1970/71, Newport set an unwanted Football League record after going 25 games without a win at the start of the season.
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Head to Head
These teams have met a total of nine times since the Exiles came back into the Football League under their new guise but they have, of course, met many, many other times over the years.
Today's visitors have become a bit of a bogey team for the Blues recently, with just two of the last nine meetings going our way.
| Carlisle wins | Draws | Newport wins | |
| League | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| Total | 2 | 2 | 5 |
Our meeting with the Exiles in November looked comfortable as Jamie Devitt netted twice to give the Blues a two-goal cushion. Padraig Amond had something to say about that as he pulled the visitors right back into it just before the break. Dan Butler thought he'd earned his side a point with just three minutes left to play, but Danny Grainger bagged himself a goal of the month award and a victory for his team with almost the last kick of the game.
Watch the highlights from that game here ...
Both of last season's games were draws, with the December trip to Rodney Parade seeing the sides having to settle for a share of the spoils off the back of a 3-3 stalemate. Luke Joyce sparked a much better second half for United when he scored from very close range immediately after the break, but it was nip and tuck and strikes from Tom Miller and Kelvin Etuhu were needed to make sure Carlisle had something to show for their efforts.
Watch the highlights from that game here ...
The league season ended when these two came together in May right here on our own patch. Mark Ellis put us ahead with less than a quarter of an hour gone, but Padraig Amond restored parity just before the break, and that was just about that as the teams played their way to full time and a well earned summer break.
Watch the highlights from that game here ...
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Man in the middle
Our referee for this game is Mr Ross Joyce. He has taken charge of 35 games so far this season showing 125 yellow cards and three reds.
We last had him as our match official in December for our 2-1 home win over Macclesfield. Hallam Hope and Jerry Yates scored our goals and Gerrard, Devitt and Yates were the Carlisle names taken on the day.
The first time we saw him this season was for the Carabao Cup meeting with Blackburn Rovers in August. Hallam Hope scored United's goal, but it was an emphatic win for Rovers on the night as braces from Bradley Dack and Adam Armstrong were complemented by a neat finish from Kasey Palmer. Kelvin Etuhu was the only name taken on the day.
Referee – Ross Joyce
Assistant Referee 1 – Christopher Husband
Assistant Referee 2 – Craig Taylor
Fourth Official – Steven Plane
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Ticket information
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