Carlisle get back to the important business of looking for league points as they head to Vale Park this weekend.
The Valiants will be full of confidence following their FA Cup victory over MK Dons last weekend, a result which extended their unbeaten run to five games.
They were at home to the Newcastle United under-21 side in the Leasing.com Trophy on Tuesday night, a game they safely negotiated with a 2-1 victory and which kept their current impressive run going.
Just one league defeat through October and November has seen them climb to within touching distance of the League Two play-off places and there's no doubt they'll be looking to carry that on, with momentum key for all clubs at this crucial stage of the season.
There are some very familiar faces in the Vale Park ranks with former-Blues David Amoo, Richie Bennett, Shaun Brisley, Mark Cullen and Luke Joyce all plying their trade in the Potteries, and it's Bennett who currently leads the scoring charts for the club with four to his name.
Nathan Smith, Jake Taylor and Amoo has three each, with Cullen and David Worrall hot on their heels with two strikes on the scoreboard.
Manager John Askey joined the club in February, and his new approach has brought a slick style of play and a stubborn defensive streak which has endeared him to the fans.
United can expect a tough test on Saturday afternoon.
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Did You Know?
+ The club were once called Burslem Port Vale, but dropped the ‘Burslem’ from their name in 1907.
+ Port Vale hold the record for the most seasons in the Football League without playing top-flight football - 106.
+ Perhaps Port Vale’s most famous supporter is singer Robbie Williams, who even owned shares in the club until 2012.
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Head to Head
The sides have met a total of 37 times with United edging it with 14 victories to Port Vale's 13.
|
Carlisle wins |
Draws |
Port Vale wins |
|
|
League |
13 |
8 |
9 |
|
League Cup |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
Cup |
0 |
1 |
2 |
|
FA Cup |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
Total |
14 |
10 |
13 |
The last meeting between these teams was in January this year when United put the 10-man Valiants to the sword courtesy of a late goal from striker Connor Simpson.
Watch the highlights from that game here:
Prior to that, we were here at Brunton Park in August 2018 when the Blues secured a 2-1 home victory. Goals either side of the break from Danny Grainger and Tom Parkes gave United a comfortable cushion, but Luke Hannant had hearts fluttering when he bagged a Valiant consolation with just two minutes left on the clock.
Watch the highlights from that game here:
Back at Vale Park in March 2018 and second half goals from Ashley Nadesan and Hallam Hope handed the Blues a hard fought victory. Dior Angus had given the home side a first half lead, but Antony Kay was sent off for the hosts as tempers flared late in the game.
Watch the highlights from that game here:
The Blues had made heavy weather of the game earlier in that season, just before Christmas, when they allowed Tyrone Barnett and Tom Pope to give the visitors an unexpected two-goal cushion. A late strike from Richie Bennett did little to prevent the away side from taking the spoils on the day.
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 12 games so far this season and has shown 48 yellow cards.
We saw him twice last season, with our first meeting for the home defeat against Grimsby in October. The goal came in the first half from Luke Hendrie, but there were no United names entered into the book.
He was back here a month later for the 1-1 Checkatrade Trophy meeting with Stoke City under-21s. Jack Sowerby scored the goal and Gary Liddle was shown a yellow card.
He was with us three times during the 2017/18 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 during that campaign 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 - Marvyn Amphlett
Assistant Referee 2 - Thomas Harty
Fourth Official - Richard Bartlett
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Ticket information:
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