The Red Devils currently sit firmly in mid-table with an even spread of results which shows them having won nine, drawn 13 and lost 11.
They headed into Tuesday night's away game at Crewe on a four-game unbeaten run, with two wins and two draws making up that quartet of results.
It became a game of two penalties at Gresty Road as an equalising spot kick from Nathan Ferguson, which wiped out an earlier penalty strike from Chris Porter, looked to have earned the Red Devils a solid away point. But there was late drama when experienced campaigner Porter pounced again to nod home the winner with almost the last touch of the encounter.
Indeed January was a good month, with just an away loss at Walsall to blemish their six-fixture spread, and draws against Colchester and Plymouth confirmed that they have become a difficult team to beat since John Yems took the helm in December.
Regular goals from Ollie Palmer [13] and Bez Lubala [11] have kept the tally ticking over, and they have been backed up by Reece Grego-Cox [6], Nathan Ferguson [6] and Ashley Nadesan [4] who help to make up potent attacking options amongst what is a strong squad.
Interestingly they have conceded just one more goal than they've scored in League Two so far this season but, and pretty much like ourselves, if they can turn draws into wins they'll be heading towards an interesting close to the campaign.
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From the head coach ...
Speaking ahead of the game, Chris Beech said: "It is one of our longest trips but that's just something you have to get on with. It's part and parcel of the game.
"We'll do what we always do and prepare properly. We'll make sure the lads have trained and rested and we'll go there in confident mood.
"They're another club who have had a change of manager and John has certainly tightened things up since he went in. The players are now being coached in a different way and they're getting results because of it.
"They've got some really good players in their squad and there's no doubt at all that we'll have to be on it if we want to get something from what is always a tough place to go."
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Head2Head
|
|
Carlisle wins |
Draws |
Crawley wins |
|
League |
8 |
5 |
2 |
|
Total |
5 |
5 |
2 |
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Highlights from previous meetings
The last time these sides met was for the opening game of the 2019/20 season here at Brunton Park. Harry McKirdy opened the scoring with just six minutes on the clock, but the Reds were back on terms just 10 minutes later when Beryly Lubala pounced. The lead was restored just before half time by Stefan Scougall, and that's how it stayed with the hosts holding on to take the three points. A feisty encounter saw Luke Young sent off in time added on.
Watch the highlights from that game here:
Carlisle United 4 – 2 Crawley Town, 27 April 2019
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Crawley Town 2 – 3 Carlisle United, 22 December 2018
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Carlisle United 2 – 2 Crawley Town, 17 March 2018
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Crawley Town 0 – 1 Carlisle United, 30 September 2017
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The man in the middle
The referee for this game is Mr David Rock. He has taken charge of 22 games so far this showing 76 yellow cards and four reds.
This is his first season as a Football League match referee, and we met up with him for the first time as our man in the middle for the trip to face Orient back in October.
Jack Iredale scored the goal which earned us a 1-1 draw and Mo Sagaf, Nathan Thomas and Byron Webster had their names taken on the day.
Referee - David Rock
Assistant Referee 1 - Daniel Cook
Assistant Referee 2 - Samuel Ogles
Fourth Official - Mike Desborough
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Is that a fact?
It’s now 12 league meetings between these two combatants since Crawley Town last came away with a victory.
On 29 September 2012 it was Nathan Byrne and, would you believe, Nicky Adams who scored the second half goals to earn a 2-0 away win for the Red Devils.
Since then the sides have drawn five times, with the Blues winning the other seven.
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Match tickets
Full match ticket details are HERE.
You can purchase your tickets online HERE.
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