HERE'S LOOKING AT YOU: Crawley Town

We take a closer look at this weekend's opponents

29 September 2017

It’s a long journey for the Blues this weekend as they hit the road to face Crawley in Sky Bet League Two.

After a home defeat to Stevenage in midweek, Keith Curle will be hoping to guide his side to consecutive away victories when they visit the Red Devils.

But Crawley themselves will be keen to pick up three points and halt a disappointing run of form under former Leeds and Liverpool man Harry Kewell.

We put Crawley under the spotlight ahead of our visit to the Checkatrade Stadium:

A Response is Needed

Similarly to United, Crawley suffered defeat on home soil during the midweek action and Kewell will be looking for his side to bounce back.

The Red Devils lost out to Newport County meaning they have now won only one of their last five league outings, although the sole triumph was an impressive away victory at Barnet.

Crawley are currently perched in 19th place on ten points - only one point and two places behind United.

Their prior results though, which include wins over Yeovil and Swindon, show that they aren’t to be taken lightly.

Home Woes

While some of Crawley’s results have certainly been encouraging, their home form has been far from it.

The Checkatrade Stadium hasn’t proved a happy hunting ground for the Red Devils this season, with only one victory to their name at home thus far.

That triumph was almost a month ago when Yeovil visited, with the four other home games this season all ending in defeat.

Kewell will be desperate for his side’s home record to improve as soon as possible if they are to put even more distance between themselves and the relegation zone.

What Does History Tell Us?

The two sides only met for the first time in 2004 and have since met on only 10 occasions.

And it’s the Blues who have the better record, having claimed four victories as opposed to the two of Crawley.

United are unbeaten in their last seven meetings with the Red Devils, with Carlisle’s last defeat coming back in September 2012.

Last season saw Curle’s side run out 3-1 winners at Brunton Park (in a game which saw THAT goal from Luke Joyce) before the two sides played out an entertaining 3-3 draw in the return fixture.

Watch the highlights - including Joycey's goal - from last season's home victory here:

Watch the highlights from last season's 3-3 away draw here:

We Don’t Mind a Trip to Crawley ...

While the long journey would be enough to knock plenty of teams off their game at Crawley, it doesn’t seem to have deterred United in recent years.

Indeed the Blues have only ever lost once at Crawley, and that was in the first ever visit to the Checkatrade Stadium back in 2005 – incidentally this game was played on the weekend of the first of most recent flooding events to hit Cumbria.

Since then, Carlisle have gone four games unbeaten at the home of the Red Devils and will be hoping that record is extended further this weekend.

Ones to Watch

+ Mark Connolly - Now in his second spell at Crawley, the experienced centre back re-joined the club in 2016 and has been a first team regular ever since. The Irishman has also turned out for the likes of Kilmarnock, Wolves and Bolton and has now cemented his reputations as a fans’ favourite at the Checkatrade Stadium. Connolly has featured five times already this season and will undoubtedly be a key component of Kewell’s backline moving forward.

+ Dean Cox - Another experienced head, the lively Cox signed for the Red Devils after he departed Leyton Orient at the beginning of last season. After starting his career at Brighton the attacking midfielder spent a fruitful spell at Orient where he set the lower leagues alike with his eye for goal and some creative displays as the Londoners pushed for promotion to the Championship. Now in the fourth tier, Cox can certainly have an in-fluence and help to pull the midfield strings for the Red Devils.

+ Enzio Boldewijn - Comfortable on either flank or as a central attacker, Boldewijn moved to England from his native Holland in 2016 after leaving Almere City. During his final season with Almere, Boldewijn netted nine times while also contributing 12 assists in a fine season. And he has continued that form at Crawley where he has become a lively attacking presence and will certainly give defenders plenty to think about.

Match Reports

MATCH REPORT: Crawley 0 - 1 United

Report from the Saturday afternoon away game

30 September 2017

It was the long trip to the Checkatrade.com Stadium for United as they came up against Crawley Town in their latest Sky Bet League Two game.

Carlisle had to play over 15 minutes with just ten men as substitute Richie Bennett was given his marching orders, and a late, late tangle of players deep into time added on saw Parkes and Yorwerth given their marching orders as tempers flared inside the penalty box.

Crawley won a corner from a quick break with just 90 seconds on the clock but it was easy for Bonham to deal with it as the delivery dropped weakly at his front stick.

Things remained tight through a cagey opening spell with a cross from Boldewijn which was cleared by Parkes being the only incident of real note through the opening ten minutes.

United were gifted a corner just before the quarter hour when a poor back pass was miskicked by Morris as he came under pressure from Hope. Grainger delivered it but a whistle blew as Joyce recovered the loose ball and the referee spotted too many tussles inside the area for his liking.

Carlisle had a goal ruled out for offside when a poor kick out was snapped up by Etuhu. He found Miller, who shielded it with his back to goal before sliding it through Adams. He put it on a plate for Hope but the assistant referee intervened with his flag to close the celebrations down.

Glenn Morris suddenly looked hesitant between the Crawley sticks and he failed to deal with another through ball as he stood still until Hope steamed through. The keeper did just enough to put the striker off as he stretched a leg as the nippy front man tried to clip it into the waiting net.

Crawley showed as an attacking force on 22 minutes when Young found half a yard to cross from the right. It skipped across the face of goal and Bonham had to spread himself to make a point-blank save from a rasping volley from the late arriving Roberts.

Miller and Hope combined well as United worked their way forward into a good area. The former floated a lovely ball into the box and his strike partner took it well on his chest, but his first time effort was blocked before it could trouble the target.

United were nearly caught on the break for a second time when a huge kick forward sent Evina clear. He crossed early and Smith worked hard to get onto the end of it. His measured volley had goal written all over it until Bonham once again got down to make a vital save.

Hope blazed over from distance as good one-touch passing took Carlisle from defence to attack but the game moved back into midfield as the combatants tightened things up again ahead of the break.

Clint Hill headed well wide from an Adams free kick at the start of the second half and Grainger had to chest the ball behind at the other end when a deflected cross bounced awkwardly inside the area.

Carlisle took the bull by the horns on 51 minutes when they passed the ball from left to right to open space for Adams to cross. He sidestepped his man and bent the ball to the far post and Hallam Hope was on hand to nod it into the net to send the away fans behind the goal wild. The finish marked a fourth goal in eight games for the striker.

Jack Bonham had to get off his line quickly to punch a ball over the top as Evina tried to get a touch, and the big stopper did well as boots and knees to the ribs accompanied his clearance.

The Cumbrians carved Crawley to pieces on the hour when Brown carried the ball forward from defence. Adams called for it and sent Joyce on the overlap, but a wayward cross brought the moment to the end.

A comfortable afternoon was made difficult for the visitors on 74 minutes when referee Kevin Johnson showed a red card to substitute Richie Bennett as he judged that an elbow had been used during a challenge with Josh Yorwerth.

Carlisle reshaped and defended with their lives through the closing 15 minutes and their work rate earned them a thoroughly deserved three points as the ten men closed ranks to see the job through.

Parkes and Yorwerth were given their marching orders deep into time added on as tempers erupted inside the penalty box, and more yellow cards followed as the referee tried to calm things down.

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Goals

Carlisle United - Hope (51)

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Bookings

Crawley Town - Roberts (40), Evina (64), Young (90), Boldewijn (90)

Carlisle United - Hill (56), Jones (90)

Sent off - Bennett (74 - straight red), Parkes (90), Yorwerth (90)

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Teams

Crawley Town - Morris, Young, Payne, Connolly, Boldewijn, Smith, Roberts, Yorwerth, Evina (Camara 77), Bulman (Sanoh 87), Lelan (Meite 62). Subs - Mersin, Doherty, Tajbakhsh, Randall.

Carlisle United - Bonham, Grainger, Joyce, Parkes, Jones, Hope, Adams (Devitt 70), Brown, S Miller (Bennett 61), Etuhu (Liddle 90), Hill. Subs - George, T Miller, Cosgrove, Lambe.

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Referee - Kevin Johnson

Attendance - 2,021 (258 away fans)

Carlisle United Football Club

Standings

HERE'S LOOKING AT YOU: Crawley Town

MATCH REPORT: Crawley 0 - 1 United