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23 February 2021 Venue Brunton Park Attendance

Kick off 19:00 (UK)

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English Football League - League Two

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Match Previews

MATCH PREVIEW: Back at home on Tuesday

Tranmere Rovers are the visitors

22 February 2021

The games keep coming, and it's fellow promotion hopefuls Tranmere Rovers who visit Brunton Park on Tuesday night.

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Tranmere are off to Wembley for the fourth time in five seasons having booked their place this time round with an impressive Papa John's Trophy semi-final victory over Oxford United.

Kaiyne Woolery rattled a stunner into the back of the net at the Kassam Stadium to put the League One side on the back foot, and Kieron Morris sealed the deal midway through the second half.

Rovers have play-off final victories in 2018 and 2019 to look back on, and they'll need to draw on that experience when they face Sunderland underneath the arch on 14 March. 

opposition

Late transfer window activity saw Rovers add real experience to the mix as striker David Nugent and midfielder Ali Crawford joined on loan deals from Preston and Bolton respectively.

Former Barrow left-back Calum MacDonald made his loan deal from Blackpool a permanent one, signing with the Prenton Park outfit until the summer of 2022.

Added to shrewd dealings earlier in the month it leaves Keith Hill with plenty of options as we head into the final two months of the season.

A run of four wins and a draw in league compeition through January signalled that things had really started to click, and the defeat against Stevenage at home 10 days ago is the only League Two blemish of an otherwise solid eight-game stint.

37 scored is fairly evenly balanced by 34 conceded, suggesting that there can be goals at either end once the action starts flowing.

They'll be disappointed by Saturday's result. They recovered from an early setback to get themselves ahead against Oldham with goals either side of the break (one of them just moments after Jombati had been sent off for the Latics) but they were hit by a late sucker punch and had to settle for a share of the spoils with the ten men.

who watch

Woolery is in a rich vein of form, and MacDonald is a real threat as he supports the attack, but the lively James Vaughan is our one to watch. 

With 17 goals in 28 games and a shot accuracy of 51%, his knowledge of his art makes him a problem for every defence he comes up against.

He can score every type of goal - close in, headers, getting on the end of things or creating his own space - and he also has a knack of bringing others into play.

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highlights

These teams met at Prenton Park in November 2020 with Keith Hill newly-appointed as manager. It was a tight game, but Corey Taylor netted the only goal of the encounter just after the break.

Watch the highlights from that game here:

It was a comfortable three-goal home victory for Rovers in March 2019 when Ollie Banks broke the deadlock just before half time. Oliver Norwood and Manny Monthe completed the scoring after the break.

Watch the highlights from that game here:

Tranmere took all three points home from their trip to Cumbria in September 2018. The Blues had 15 minutes to forget at the end of the game as a penalty miss was followed by an own goal from Tom Parkes, and a killer blow from Paul Mullin just before the final whistle.

Watch the highlights from that game here:

Our last meeting prior to that was in February 2015, at Prenton Park, when a quickfire double from Charlie Wyke just after the break secured a 2-0 away victory for the Blues. It came at a price as Kyle Dempsey received his marching orders deep into time added on.

Watch the highlights from that game here:

The league meeting at Brunton Park earlier that season was a tense affair, but a nice finish from David Amoo with just 20 minutes left to play proved to be the difference as the Cumbrians battled their way to a hard-earned three points.

Watch the highlights from that game here:

The trio of meetings from that season was completed, again at Prenton Park, when the sides came together in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy. Brad Potts got on the end of a good move to cancel out a first half Max Power goal, but it was Tranmere who progressed as they got the better of the penalty shoot-out, winning by 5-4 at the end of a very long night.

Watch the highlights of that game here:

officials

Referee - Scott Oldham
Assistant Referee 1 - Simon Clayton
Assistant Referee 2 - Paul Newhouse
Fourth Official - Adam Herczeg

Scott OldhamThe referee for this game is Mr Scott Oldham, a late replacement for Ben Speedie.

Scott has taken charge of 20 games so far this season and has shown 36 yellow cards and no reds.

He was with us in November 2020 for our FA Cup second round game against Doncaster Rovers. Ben Whiteman out the visitors two goals to the good before half time, but Jon Mellish kept things interesting when he gave United hope with 12 minutes to go. Donny saw it out to win 2-1. Josh kayode was the only booking of the afternoon.

We also met Mr Oldham in October 2019 for our home defeat at the hands of Northampton. Two second half goals left the Bkues with nothing to show from that had been a dour game, but there were no United names taken on the day.

He was also here at Brunton Park for our home game against Crawley Town during the 2018/19 season. The Blues romped to a four-goal lead courtesy of Nathan Thomas (2), Callum O'Hare and Hallam Hope, but the Red Devils pulled two back either side of the break to make things slightly more interesting. There were no Carlisle names taken on the day.

Prior to that he was our man in the middle for our 2-0 defeat at the hands of MK Dons. Early second half goals for Jordan Houghton and Kieran Agard were followed by bookings for Regan Slater and Macaulay Gillesphey.

Earlier that season he was here at Brunton Park for the game against Stevenage in September. A Ben Kennedy goal early in the second half was enough to give the Boro a one-goal victory, and Hallam Hope's was the only Carlisle name taken on the day.

He was at Brunton Park on three occasions during the 2017/18 campaign, the first in September when we drew 1-1 with Barnet. Shaun Miller scored our late equaliser, with just five minutes left to play, and it was a game where the notebook stayed firmly in the pocket.

We saw him again at the end of December when Coventry were the visitors to Carlisle. Danny Grainger and Jamie Devitt went in the book as Marc McNulty bagged a second half winner.

His last trip to see us in the last campaign was for our 2-0 victory over Grimsby. Hallam Hope and Mark Ellis scored the goals and Clint Hill was the only yellow card shown on the day.

tickets

This is a behind closed doors fixture. 

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Alternatively click HERE to go directly to our iFollow United information page where you can also purchase your match pass - match passes cost £10 per game.

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Match Reports

MATCH REPORT: United 2 - 3 Tranmere

Report from the Tuesday night home game

23 February 2021

The Blues were back at Brunton Park on Tuesday night as the run of fixtures continued at full flow.

Gime Toure was into the starting line up for the first time since the December away trip to Forest Green, with Brennan Dickenson dropping down to the bench.

Striker Cedwyn Scott made his first appearance in the match day 18 as a substitute as the home side looked to build on their solid Saturday away performance at Salford.

Tranmere came into the encounter having lost just one game in their last nine outings, and with more than one eye on a top seven finish.

A duo of balls down the middle had first Toure and then Patrick interested as the hosts tried to get straight onto the front foot, and that was exactly the case as captain Nick Anderton crafted a fantastic opening from the half clearance.

He first side stepped beyond his man before putting Toure on the overlap, and he was intelligent when he rolled it back from whence it came. Anderton clipped it into the box with his weaker right foot and Kayode was onto it with a stunning close-range volley which ripped into the roof of the net, taking him to a tally of five for the season.

Callum Guy had Davies at full stretch with a rasping free kick from tight by the left hand touchline. A hand from the keeper sent it towards Hayden, and he nodded it back into the mix. Bennett and Kayode challenged but it was eventually hooked away.

A slick passing move saw United pop their way through midfield and Mellish was upended by Lewis as the action developed. Toure was there, as was Riley, but his guided shot was right at Davies.

There was danger at the other end when Woolery somehow wriggled his way through two challenges on the edge of the box. His shot was squashed by an excellent intervention from Riley and Farman scooped the loose ball up.

The Carlisle passes were flowing and the hosts worked their way out of a tight spot with short stuff from Tanner and Patrick. It was curled out to Anderton, but he was tackled well by Nelson.

For all of the good play the home side were done on the break when an attacking move broke down. A ball out of defence was flicked on by Vaughan and it was suddenly two against one. Feeney fed it to Woolery, and he did enough to poke it past Farman as he spread himself to try to make a block.

Woolery found a yard again from a Feeney cross as Tranmere looked buoyed by the goal, but the effort was stopped by Guy. Spearing and Lloyd then had speculative punts charged down as they went for it from distance.

The Blues saw the spell out and they were in front again after Patrick pulled the ball wide. He spotted Guy in space, and he wasted no time in bringing Toure into play. The big striker had his back to goal, but he dropped a shoulder and dribbled a pass for Anderton to strike. It was a thunderbolt, and Davies could do nothing as it flashed into his bottom corner.

A sprint from Gime Toure from a Kayode flick on the left flank had him bearing down on the right back. He stepped over, then picked a pass for Mellish, who was dead centre and 10-yards out. It was just an inch behind the midfielder and it got stuck under his feet, and Clarke was able to swipe it away.

Rovers responded with wayward shots that, in one case, landed in the Paddock, but there was a moment just before the break when Spearing whipped the ball across the face of goal. Bennett was in control, and he lifted his boot to let it pass when he saw that Vaughan was on his heels.

The equaliser came from nowhere as Vaughan floated a seemingly harmless pass from deep into the area. Bennett let it go and that left Farman with no time to react. It was disappointment all round as it wound its way over the line.

United looked for a reply in time added on for the half when Toure and Kayode worked Mellish into the box. His cut back found Riley but there was an important block which diverted the goal bound volley away from the target.

An early corner in the second period from the visitors was well dealt with by Farman as it dipped into bodies. He had to stay on top of it as kicks flew in, but it was eventually ushered away.

United had set pieces of their own as they attacked down the left, but deep deliveries were dealt with as Hayden and Bennett challenged.

Carlisle kept pressing and Anderton and Patrick stayed patient as they found space to cross. The clip from Patrick was a tester and Feeney was on the stretch as he put it over his own bar.

The corner count kept piling out and Guy put one right on the spot, but O'Connor moved first to head it behind.

Patrick then beat his marker twice before pulling it back, but another firm defensive header stopped Kayode from being able to finish it off.

The Blues were close again when Anderton overlapped before checking his run. He crossed from his right boot and Toure was ready to put it away until MacDonald got there just in the nick of time.

United thought they'd done enough when a Guy corner was met on the full by Kayode. His header had venom and pace, and it flew past Davies, but Vaughan was on the line to make a timely clearance.

It become a real battle as the conditions worsened, but Woolery was gifted a chance when Hayden underhit a back pass. The shot was going in but for the slightest of fingertip touches from Farman.

The corner was under control but Zanzala played a blind pass and that invited a shot from distance. The United keeper watched it all the way.

A late gust of wind as a Morris corner came in almost outfoxed Farman but he did well to get a palm to it. Rovers stayed up in numbers and they nicked the win with two minutes left to play when Nugent pulled wide as a home break fizzled out. He managed to put the ball back across the face of goal and Vaughan had the relatively simple task of putting it into the back of the net as he slid in.

Tanner sliced wide as the clock ticked down, but Tranmere shut the door to take the three points.

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Goals

Carlisle United - Kayode (3), Anderton (27)

Tranmere Rovers - Woolery (21), Vaughan (43, 88)

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Bookings

Tranmere Rovers - Lewis (12)

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Teams

Carlisle United - Farman, Tanner, Hayden (McDonald 81), Bennett, Anderton (c), Riley, Mellish (Dickenson 89), Guy, Toure (Alessandra 79), Kayode, Patrick (Zanzala 79). Subs - Norman (gk), Furman, Scott.

Tranmere Rovers - Davies (c), Nelson (O'Connor 49), Spearing, Vaughan, Woolery (Nugent 86), MacDonald, Feeney, Ray, Lewis, Clarke, Lloyd (Morris 70). Subs - Murphy (gk), Ridehalgh, Crawford, Kirby.

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Match officials

Referee - Scott Oldham
Assistant Referee 1 - Simon Clayton
Assistant Referee 2 - Paul Newhouse
Fourth Official - Adam Herczeg

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Attendance - BCD

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