Carlisle United Football Club

The U's were our last Saturday home fixture prior to the March lockdown earlier this year in a season which saw them battle their way into the play-off reckoning.

They lost out to Exeter, when the two-legged semi-finals were eventually staged in June, and they've come back this season very difficult to beat as they look to mount another assault on the upper reaches of the division.

So much so, in fact, that four of their five league fixtures have been stalemates, with their only League Two victory coming in their first home game of the season against Bolton.

Last weekend saw them take a first half lead against the Saddlers but a second half equaliser from Elijah Adebayo left the U's facing an onslaught, and they had to dig deep to keep hold of their point.

The play-off defeat saw the end of John McGreal's tenure at Colchester and former player and assistant manager Steve Ball was handed the reins midway through July.

Ball, who had worked closely with McGreal, immediately insisted that he'd be 'putting his own stamp on things' as he set about looking for new recruits.

Former-Carlisle loanee keeper Shamal George was captured on a two-year deal and, at the other end, striker Martell Taylor-Crossdale came in from Fulham on a season long loan deal.

More recently, forward Josh Bohui terminated his contract with NAC Breda as he made the move back to England to join the Colchester ranks, having previously spent three years on the books with Manchester United.

Stats tell us that Callum Harriott, who has two goals to his name so far, has a shot accuracy of 50%, which means that he's likely to test the keeper if he gets half a sight of the target.

He's also popped up with an assist when he slotted a pass through to Ben Stevenson, who opened the scoring in the 3-3 draw with Oldham at the beginning of this month.

With eight shots on target through his appearances so far, it gives him a 25% conversion rate to goals scored.

Click HERE to purchase a match pass which will allow you to watch this game in full HD via our streaming iFollow service.

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.

Match passes are available for ALL EFL league games during this restricted attendance period. Click HERE to find out more about this season’s iFollow United service.

Codes will be issued to those who are eligible to watch this fixture free. More details on free codes, and how to redeem them - and on how to purchase a match pass - are HERE.

Colchester's visit to Brunton Park in March 2020 saw them pick up a 3-0 victory as they maintained their push for a top seven spot.

Watch the highlights from that game here:

We were at their place just before Christmas in 2019 and it was a day where Colchester took their chances and claimed the victory.

Watch the highlights from that game here:

The February meeting during the 2018/19 season brought a hard-fought draw, with Hallam Hope giving the Blues the lead just after half time. The U's upped their game and they got their reward with an equaliser from Frankie Kent with just six minutes left to play.

Watch the highlights from that game here:

Colchester were at Brunton Park just before Christmas that season for a game that went the way of the home side thanks to a blistering second half display. Hallam Hope had set the tone with a goal just before the break, and Jerry Yates, Jamie Devitt and Danny Grainger wrapped things up as they hit the back of the net in a second period which was all about the Blues.

Watch the highlights from that game here:

The first meeting of these teams during the 17/18 season was for our October visit to Essex. It was a tight game, with both sides creating good chances, but a superb finish from Jamie Devitt proved to be the difference when he got on the end of a long ball forward before calmly slotting it beneath Walker's dive to find the bottom corner.

Watch the highlights from that game here:

Back up at Brunton Park in February 2018 and Courtney Senior gave the visitors the upper hand with a well taken goal just before the break. The Blues came out for the second half in determined mood and Jamie Devitt pounced once more to claim a point for his side with just 10 minutes left on the clock.

Watch the highlights from that game here:

Referee - Martin Coy
Assistant Referee 1 - Daniel Woodward
Assistant Referee 2 - Scott Williams
Fourth Official - Peter Gooch

The referee for this fixture is Mr Martin Coy. 

He's refereed five games so far this season showing 13 yellow cards and two reds.

He was last in charge of us for the 3-0 home defeat against Plymouth in January. Aaron Hayden was sent off in the final minute of that fixture as tensions ran high. 

Prior to that he was here for the 2-1 defeat at the hands of Port Vale back in November 2019.

Ryan Loft put us ahead with just one minute on the clock, but second half goals from Worrall and Cullen took the points the way of the hosts. Loft and Canice Carroll had their names taken on the day.

We saw him twice in the 2018/19 season, with our first meeting for the home defeat against Grimsby in October. The goal came in the first half from Luke Hendrie, but there were no United names entered into the book.

He was back here a month later for the 1-1 Checkatrade Trophy meeting with Stoke City under-21s. Jack Sowerby scored the goal and Gary Liddle was shown a yellow card. 

He was with us three times during the 2017/18 season, with his first visit up north coming in August 2017 for our 3-0 home victory over Cheltenham. Tom Miller and Reggie Lambe added to a fifth minute own goal from Harry Pell, and Mark Ellis was the only Carlisle booking on the day.

We saw him again for our November Checkatrade Trophy group game against Fleetwood, where a certain Jack Sowerby opened the scoring on the night. Wes Burns doubled the lead just before half time, and a late Shaun Miller goal did little to affect the outcome as the visitors took the win come full time. Tom Miller and Jamie Devitt received yellow cards that night.

His last trip to Brunton Park during that campaign was for our 2-2 draw with Crawley in March. Richie Bennett and Hallam Hope appeared to have done the job with goals to give us a 2-0 lead, but the Red Devils recovered and claimed their point courtesy of a brace from Kalen Grant. United names taken were Clint Hill, Hallam Hope and Tom Parkes.

This is a behind closed doors fixture. 

Please see above for details on how to purchase a live streaming match pass to see all of the action via our iFollow streaming service.