The Carlisle United Youth team will play Cumberland U18s in a friendly fixture at Gillford Park this Saturday, kick off 11am.

Eric Kinder said: "We have a free Saturday this weekend, so we have arranged a game with the Cumberland U18 side. This will help them to get prepared for the Cup competition that the County play in and, for us, it will keep us playing and thinking about the things that we need to be doing as well. The other side to it all is that it also gives me an opportunity to look at the best players that are playing in Cumbria at the moment, all in one go."

"It's beneficial all round," he added, "and if you think back to when we did this last season, we ended up bringing John Jamieson in as cover for Alex Mitchell, and he became a big part of our Youth Cup squad. It's definitely a worthwhile fixture for everybody."

"I'm only too happy to help the County U18 side whenever and however I can, to be honest," he concluded. "I've said before, I think the relationships that we have with our local clubs and organisations are hugely important, and we want to be getting it right as much as we can. I get on really well with the Cumberland U18 coaching staff, and this friendly opportunity has come at a good time for both of us. I think we are seeing with the way that we can work together with the set ups at Gillford Park, Carlisle City and the Cumberland FA that it is very encouraging for all concerned. We want to make sure that we strengthen the bonds in the region, and I really do think that we should be helping each other out as much as we can."