PREVIEW: Forest Green

It's a drive down the M5 and M6 as United head to the New Lawn on Saturday.

Former England under-16 boss Rob Edwards took the helm at the New Lawn at the end of May and has seen his side respond in an extremely positive manner to his appointment.

The 38-year-old was with Wolves prior to his coaching switch to the national set-up, and he's taken to his new challenge like a duck to water.

The only blemish on a near-perfect season to date was the shock of being knocked out of the FA Cup at the first-round stage by St Albans City.

Forest Green have lost just twice in the league this season, having won 15 and drawn seven of their other outings.

Goalscoring has been the key, with 48 league strikes making them the division's top scorers by some margin. Backed up by a tight defence - just 21 conceded - they are currently on a 13-game unbeaten run and have opened up a considerbale gap at the head of the pile.

As if they needed net bulgers from anywhere else, striker Josh March opened his account for the campaign against Stevenage at the start of this month. Not bad when you consider that Jamille Matt and Matty Stevens have registered 29 between them.

Last Saturday was furstrating as they took a one-goal lead into time added on against fellow promotion chasers Northampton Town. They were set to celebrate their victory, but Mitch Pinnock nicked an equaliser for the home team with the last touch of the game.

Rovers hosted Mansfield on Tuesday night ... well, kind of. Kick off was initially delayed by 15 minutes as a deep fog bank rolled in, and then just four minutes into it the referee called a halt as players, fans and officials struggled to see what was going on.

It was agreed to wait another 10 minutes but, if anything, visibility worsened and the Stags were left to negotiate their way out of Gloucestershire through the pea soup having had a wasted journey.

Anyhoo, on the pitch the job is by no means done for Rovers, but it's a brave person who will bet against them at this stage.

16 goals and eight assists for Jamille Matt is one heck of a return - particularly with just over three months of the season left to play. 

Always a handful, he's firing on all cylinders at the moment and that confidence is bound to give him an extra yard of belief.

Tall and powerful, he's an obvious pick as the one to watch.

Click HERE to purchase an audio match pass which will allow you to listen to this game via our streaming iFollow service.

With match commentary provided by BBC Radio Cumbria, this is a fantastic way to follow your team through the season.

Match audio passes are available for ALL EFL league games - click HERE to find out more about this season’s iFollow United service.

Jamille Matt and Nicky Cadden bagged within four minutes of each other in the first half of the 2-0 victory here in Carlisle in October 2021. That was the scoring done on the day.

Watch the highlights from that game here:

All of the goals came in the second half at Brunton Park in February 2021 with Aaron Collins putting the visitors ahead from the spot on the hour. Gime Toure equalised, but the away side grabbed the points courtesy of a late goal from Odin Bailey.

Watch the highlights from that game here:

A trip to the New Lawn in December 2020 brought a win for the hosts as Jamille Matt pounced late in the game to nick the points as an afternoon of sunshine turned to heavy, saturating storms.

Watch the highlights from that game here:

The 2019/20 season was one of those years where it felt like we played each other at least 200 times, and the fourth occasion we came together was again down at the Lawn, and it was a thumping away win for the Cumbrians as Josh Kayode complemented a Nathan Thomas hat-trick, with the score ending at 4-1.

Watch the highlights from that game here:

December 2019's FA Cup second round replay went the way of the Blues courtesy of a first-ever goal for the club for big defender Aaron Hayden. It was nip and tuck, but Carlisle went through to face Championship side Cardiff City in the third round.

Watch the highlights from that game here:

United had to come from behind when Aaron Collins netted with just 10 minutes on the clock at Nailsworth in the November 2019 second round FA Cup clash. Goals either side of the break from Nathan Thomas put the Cumbrians in the ascendency, but an own goal from Gethin Jones just two minutes after Thomas had bagged his second left the teams with it all to do again as the game ended 2-2.

Unfortunately we do not hold the rights to the first round match footage.

It was a stalemate here at Brunton Park when these sides met in league action in September 2019. Chances came and went, but the feisty encounter went without goals as five players were booked and one sent off (James Morton).

Watch the highlights from that game here:

United came away from the New Lawn with a 1-1 draw in March 2019, having largely dominated the game. Nathan Thomas bagged the goal, but there were a number of opportunities missed by the Blues as they battled, but ultimately failed, to take all three points.

Watch the highlights from that game here:

It was Rovers who took the honours when they came north in November 2018, earlier in that season, with goals from Ben Morris and Carl Winchester giving them a two-goal cushion. A late penalty from Jamie Devitt gave the Blues some hope, but the away side held out to take all three points.

Watch the highlights from that game here:

The December 2017 away trip to the New Lawn brought an early Christmas present for the Blue Army as Richie Bennett headed home what turned out to be the winner just before the half hour.

Watch the highlights from that game here:

It was the same scoreline here at Brunton Park in January 2018 with the only goal of the game coming in almost the same minute. This time it was Jamie Devitt who found the back of the net when he arrived late to smash a volley into the bottom corner as the ball fell nicely at his feet.

Watch the highlights from that game here:

Referee - Craig Hicks
Assistant Referee 1 - Lisa Rashid
Assistant Referee 2 - Andrew Hendley
Fourth Official - Ravel Cheosiaua
Observer - Mick Brown

Our referee for this game is Mr Craig Hicks. He has taken charge of 21 games so far this season showing 59 yellow cards and five reds.

Unusually, and despite having been on the EFL books for a number of seasons now, this is just the second time he has been in charge of a game involving the Blues.

We first met at Colchester in December 2019. The U's won 3-0 (Nat Knight-Percival scored an unfortunate own goal) and Gethin Jones and Stefan Scougall had their names taken.

Prices:

U11 tickets must be purchased with an adult ticket.

Please note - there will be no ticket collections on the day of the game.  

There will be a £1 charge for on-the-day sales.

Disabled info

For wheelchair tickets please contact Forest Green Rovers ticket office directly on 0333 123 1889 which is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 9am – 3pm.  

Dates of sale

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Methods of purchase: