MATCH PREVIEW: It's the short hop to Barrow

When these sides met at Brunton Park in October, it was the first coming together in the league for some 56 years.

And there was all sorts going on at the top of Division Four in April 1964 - in fact, things were so tight that five teams, Carlisle amongst them, were neck-and-neck for the right to take one of the four promotion spots, with the title also still up for grabs.

Things were a little bit more academic at the other end. A system of re-election was still in place, but the Bluebirds were doing everything they could to avoid bottom spot.

In the end Carlisle held their nerve, finishing second behind Gilingham despite having recorded a whopping 113 league goals.

Unfortunately a run of poor results, particularly at home, meant that Barrow did indeed pick up the dreaded wooden spoon.

Goals from Joe Livingstone (2) and Jonny Evans (2) eased United to a 4-1 win in that encounter, despite a fine finish from Tommy Thompson in reply.

United did their local rivals a favour last Saturday with a comfortable 2-0 away win that kept the Shrimpers at arm's length at the foot of the table, with the Bluebirds having secured a thrilling 2-1 victory over Newport on Good Friday.

That result made it three wins from five games for Barrow, a run which eased fears that a relegation battle was looming.

Easter Monday brought a long trip to Essex to face Colchester, who had also found themselves dragged into the bottom of the table reckoning after a poor showing in 2021.

And it was another game of high drama as Tom Beadling bagged a late equaliser to leave Barrow with a healthy seven-point gap to the bottom two places.

That aside, it's been a season of turmoil for Barrow who parted company with Michael Jolley - who had been in the hotseat for just two months - towards the end of February following a run of four straight defeats.

He had taken over from David Dunn who had won just two of his 22 games in charge prior to his December departure, having joined the club in the summer.

Rob Kelly was appointed as caretaker until the end of the season.

New arrivals in January included defenders Tom Davies and Neal Eardley, winger Dan Bramall and midfielder Ollie Banks, who all put pen to paper early in the transfer window.

Jamie Devitt and defender Bobby Thomas also arrived as the month ticked on, and versatile midfielder Dion Donohue also came through the door. Striker Mikael Ndjoli and midfielder Mace Goodridge appeared to have completed the deals to done when they came on-loan from Bournemouth and Burnley respectively on deadline day.

But the end of March brought another arrival, when exprienced striker Calvin Andrew - without a club since leaving Rochdale last June - agreed a short-term deal for the remainder of the campaign.

Everyone at the club wishes Lewis Hardcastle all the very best - the talented 22-year-old was diagnosed with a heart condition after feeling ill during the game against Salford, and he subsequently announced his retirement due to health reasons. A fund raised to help the young midfielder surged past £10,000 in just 72 hours, a magnificent effort from all concerned.

We're going with Scott Quigley.

Having shaken off a frustrating injury he's back and firing on all cylinders, with 11 goals from his 33 appearances in all competitions this season.

He's mobile, he leads the line well and he has a keen eye for goal.

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That historic first meeting in 56 years went the way of Carlisle as Jon Mellish gave the Blues a 1-0 lead with 24 minutes on the clock. Aaron Hayden was given his marching orders early in the second half, but the 10-men held on to claim the win.

Watch the highlights from that game here: 

Referee - Sebastian Stockbridge
Assistant Referee 1 - Richard Woodward
Assistant Referee 2 - Paul Stonier
Fourth Official - Steven Copeland
Observer - Mark Haywood

Our referee for this game is Mr Seb Stockbridge.

He has taken charge of 27 games this season showing 87 yellow cards and four reds. 

Mr Stockbridge was in Carlisle in November 2020 for the 3-2 win over Newport. Lewis Alessandra and Jon Mellish (2) scored the goals and Rod McDonald was the only Carlisle name noted.

And he was a late replacement in February 2021 for our 1-0 away defeat at Harrogate. The game just about survived a serious downpour, and George Tanner was the solitary booking on the night.

We had him for our 0-0 draw with Cambridge in November 2019 where Canice Carroll and Ryan Loft had their names entered into the bookings charts.

He was with us again in the 2019/20 season for our September 4-2 home loss at the hands of the Wolves under-21 side. Hallam Hope and Ryan Loft scored our goals and Canice Carroll received a yellow card.

The last time he was here prior to that was for our 2-0 home defeat against Morecambe in October 2018. There were no names taken on the afternoon but the game was lost by half time.

He was also with us in August 2018 for our 1-0 home victory over Crewe. Ashley Nadesan scored the winning goal, with 20 minutes left to play, and there were no United names taken on the day.

We saw him on three occasions during season 2017/18 – Danny Grainger [who also scored], Mike Jones, Mark Ellis and Jamie Devitt were all carded in our 1-1 draw with Luton in April.

Gary Liddle’s name was the only one written down as Kelvin Etuhu and John O’Sullivan scored the goals to secure a 2-0 victory over Chesterfield in February.

And Hallam Hope and Jason Kennedy were the goal scorers as United stayed trouble free in their 2-0 Checkatrade victory over Morecambe.

This is a behind closed doors fixture. 

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