United to play host to Bolton
Carlisle United will face their second Championship level opposition in the space of four days when Bolton Wanderers head north for a Tuesday evening friendly fixture on 23 July, kick off 7.45pm.The Cumbrians, who announced their Saturday home fixture against Burnley earlier this week, will make it two tough back-to-back fixtures for their fans to get their teeth into when the pre-season schedule gathers pace ahead of the big 3 August kick off.
The Wanderers enjoyed an unbelievable final few months of the season when they climbed from twentieth spot midway through February to miss out on a play-off place on goal difference on a dramatic final day of the campaign.
Manager Dougie Freedman is believed to be in talks with former-Blues loanee Jermaine Beckford having allowed long-serving forward Kevin Davies to leave the Reebok during the early stages of this close season.
"This is another very good game for us to look forward to," manager Greg Abbott said.
"Pre-season is a selfish time because you want to structure your fixtures to gain the maximum benefit for your team. However, I think the Burnley and Bolton fixtures will give the fans plenty to talk and think about, and both games present us with an opportunity to really test ourselves."
The teams last met in a competitive fixture in the old fourth division way back in March 1988 when the visitors took a 2-0 victory away from Brunton Park. The meeting between the teams earlier that season, at Burnden Park, had also gone the way of the Wanderers as they smashed five past the hapless Cumbrians without conceding a goal themselves.
In fact, we need to go as far back as the old second division and April 1983 to find the last time Carlisle scored against Bolton - a healthy 5-0 league win in front of their own fans. Tommy Craig, Alan Shoulder, Paul Bannon and Bryan 'Pop' Robson (2) found the back of the net on the day.
Full match details will be confirmed in due course.
