Carlisle make the long trek to Colchester at the weekend.
Colchester parted company with head coach Hayden Mullins midway through January when a defeat against Sutton proved to be the straw that broke the camel's back.
The 42-year-old origianlly took over as caretaker in March 2021, and was confirmed as the permanent boss shortly thereafter.
A haul of just five league wins from 22 outings meant the writing was on the wall, and former player Wayne Brown stepped in to tke the reins.
This is Brown's third spell in charge, having also occupied the hotseat in 2015 and again in February 2021, prior to Mullins being handed the role.
He is being assisted by Joe Dunne, who was U's manager from 2012 to 2014, with Alex Dyer having also left the club.
The U's went into their Tuesday night away game at Mansfield in a good run of form - four games unbeaten, which included two wins and two draws.
The Stags ended that run, but they were made to sweat after Alan Judge scored in the 97th minute (yep, that's 90+7) to give Colchester hope. It proved to be just too little to late and it was Mansfield who celebrated as they took their own run to 10 league games without defeat.
The departure of Mullins aside, January saw a flurry of window activity almost from the off. Defender Tom Dallison came in from Crawley on a 30-month deal for an undisclosed fee, and fellow defender Cameron Coxe made his loan move from Solihull Moors a permanent one.
Striker Corie Andrews penned a loan move from Wimbledon, and free agent midfielder Emyr Huws agreed a stay until the end of the season
More loan dealings followed as Owura Edwards winged his way in from Bristol City, as did left-back Myles Kenlock, who made his way from Ipswich.
Gillingham allowed experienced striker John Akinde to leave, and he subsequently arrived in Colchester on a two-and-a-half year contract, as Frank Nouble headed out the door to join Orient.
Deadline day brought three more new faces - Bradford keeper Sam Hornby and Villa winger Tyriek Wright have agreed loan terms, whilst Man City defender Camron Gbadebo also committed until the end of the season.
Colchester is where Freddie Sears made his name and he's already shown that it's where he feels comfortable with a heck of a return so far this season.
34 goals in 217 appearances for Ipswich had left him feeling 'ready to show people what I'm about again' and the experienced forward has done just that with 12 goals and two assists from 35 appearances.
He's a forward who knows where to be and when to be there - that's why he's our one to watch this weekend.
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|
Carlisle wins |
Draws |
Colchester wins |
|
|
League |
18 |
12 |
21 |
|
League Cup |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
Total |
18 |
12 |
22 |
The opening day of the 2021/22 season brought Colchester to Brunton Park and the teams slugged out a 0-0 stalemate in the summer sunshine.
Watch the highlights from that game here:
Jon Mellish scored just before the half hour to put United in front in Essex in March 2021 but Callum Harriott turned things round with a brace to help his side to a much needed win.
Oh, and it was foggy!
You can try to watch the highlights from that game here:
The U's were at Brunton Park in October 2020 where goals from Lewis Alessandra and Jon Mellish put the hosts two goals to the good. Luke Norris netted a brace to level things up, but Aaron Hayden struck late to keep the points in Cumbria.
Watch the highlights from that game here:
Colchester's visit to Brunton Park in March 2020 saw them pick up a 3-0 victory as they maintained their push for a top seven spot.
Watch the highlights from that game here:
We were at their place just before Christmas in 2019 and it was a day where Colchester took their chances and claimed the victory.
Watch the highlights from that game here:
The February meeting during the 2018/19 season brought a hard-fought draw, with Hallam Hope giving the Blues the lead just after half time. The U's upped their game and they got their reward with an equaliser from Frankie Kent with just six minutes left to play.
Watch the highlights from that game here:
Colchester were at Brunton Park just before Christmas that season for a game that went the way of the home side thanks to a blistering second half display. Hallam Hope had set the tone with a goal just before the break, and Jerry Yates, Jamie Devitt and Danny Grainger wrapped things up as they hit the back of the net in a second period which was all about the Blues.
Watch the highlights from that game here:
The first meeting of these teams during the 17/18 season was for our October visit to Essex. It was a tight game, with both sides creating good chances, but a superb finish from Jamie Devitt proved to be the difference when he got on the end of a long ball forward before calmly slotting it beneath Walker's dive to find the bottom corner.
Watch the highlights from that game here:
Back up at Brunton Park in February 2018 and Courtney Senior gave the visitors the upper hand with a well taken goal just before the break. The Blues came out for the second half in determined mood and Jamie Devitt pounced once more to claim a point for his side with just 10 minutes left on the clock.
Watch the highlights from that game here:
Referee - Lee Swabey
Assistant Referee 1 - Darren Blunden
Assistant Referee 2 - Geoffrey Russell
Fourth Official - Gareth Viccars
Observer - Graham Horwood
Our referee for this game is Mr Lee Swabey. Lee has taken charge of 20 games so far this season showing 48 yellow cards and two reds.
Lee was in charge for our April 2021 trip to Newport where the sides battled out a 0-0 draw. Jon Mellish and Lewis Alessandra were booked on the night.
He was the man in the middle for our 1-0 away win at Crewe in November 2018. A feisty game saw Jerry Yates, Anthony Gerrard, Richie Bennett and Jamie Devitt receive yellows for the Blues, but Devitt was later in the book for the right reasons when he notched the injury time winner.
Prior to that we last saw him for our away trip to Newport in December 2017. A thrilling encounter saw the sides eventually 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, after the Exiles had taken the lead just before the break, when he scored from very close range.
But it was nip and tuck the rest of the way and strikes from Tom Miller and Kelvin Etuhu were needed to make sure Carlisle had something to show for their efforts. No Carlisle names were taken on the day.
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