Carlisle United Football Club

Crawley have a frustrating record against the Blues and, in fact, you have to go back to the start of the 2012/13 season to find the last time the Red Devils recorded a victory in this fixture.

That was at Brunton Park when Nathan Byrne and Nicky Adams bagged second half goals to take the points with a 2-0 victory.

The sides have met on 13 occasions since then and Carlisle have won seven of those games, with the other six being drawn. 

United have made the trip to the Broadfield Stadium on eight occasions, but Crawley have won just once when they've hosted the Blues. That was on our very first visit, in January 2005, when the teams were in the Conference. Paul Armstrong netted the winning strike.

Incidentally, Crawley was bathed in winter sunshine that day, but reports from back home in Cumbria painted a grim picture as widepsread floods wiped out much of Carlisle and its surrounding areas. Brunton Park was, of course, devastated and Warwick Road became a no-go area for many weeks to follow.

Crawley's first-round FA Cup clash with Torquay had everything, with former-Blue Ashley Nadesan scoring the winner with just two minutes of extra time left to play in the eleven-goal thriller.

This weekend's hosts have won their last three home league games and have lost just one of their last five overall.

Manager John Yems has demonstrated that he doesn't suffer fools with some combative post-match interviews recently, and that fighting spririt has been instilled in the team with them having made themselves tough to beat.

The acquisitions of midfielders Henry Burnett from Southend (one-year deal) and Jake Hesketh from Southampton (loan) prior to the closure of the transfer window gave the ranks a welcome boost and the results suggest that they might just be a force to be reckoned with.

We know all about Ashley Nadesan, who enjoyed some excellent loan spells at Brunton Park, and there are some experienced players in the squad to add to a mix of youth and energy.

21-year-old Max Watters seems to have found his League Two feet this season, with seven goals in the eight games he's played, but we aren't looking any further than former Peterborough and Bristol Rovers forward Tom Nichols.

Always dangerous, he's also netted seven times so far this season but, with his ability to bring others into play - his four assists attest to that - we've plumped for him as our man to watch this weekend.

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With match commentary also provided by BBC Radio Cumbria, this is a fantastic way to follow your team through these unprecedented behind closed doors fixtures.

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These sides came together down in Crawley just before the lockdown, in February 2020. It was a tight, tense 0-0 draw, with both teams missing chances to snatch it.

Watch the highlights from that game here:

Priot to that the Red Devils headed to Brunton Park for the opening game of the 2019/20 season. Harry McKirdy opened the scoring with just six minutes on the clock, but the Reds were back on terms just 10 minutes later when Beryly Lubala pounced. The lead was restored just before half time by Stefan Scougall, and that's how it stayed with the hosts holding on to take the three points. A feisty encounter saw Luke Young sent off in time added on.

Watch the highlights from that game here: 

Carlisle United 4 – 2 Crawley Town, 27 April 2019

Crawley Town 2 – 3 Carlisle United, 22 December 2018

Carlisle United 2 – 2 Crawley Town, 17 March 2018

Crawley Town 0 – 1 Carlisle United, 30 September 2017

Referee - Antony Coggins
Assistant Referee 1 - Stephen Brown
Assistant Referee 2 - Michael Chard
Fourth Official - Stuart Butler

Our referee for this game is Mr Antony Coggins.

Antony has taken charge of nine games so far this season and has shown 27 yellow cards and two reds.

He was our match official for the October 2019 visit to Rodney Parade when the Blues were done by a last gasp goal from George Nurse. Mike Jones was the only Carlisle name taken on the day.

The first time as our main match official was for our 1-0 away victory against Yeovil in February 2018. Hallam Hope scored the only goal of the game, almost immediately after the second half had started, and there were no Carlisle names taken.

This is a behind closed doors fixture. 

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