Carlisle United
nPower League 1
Saturday 9th February 2013
Brunton Park, Warwick Road, Carlisle, CA1 1LL
Kick Off: 3pm
Weather Forecast: Grey cloud, 3°c
Referee: N Miller (County Durham)
Last time we met:
Robin Shroot capitalised on an error from Carlisle keeper Adam Collin to earn Stevenage a point in the first League 1 game of the season. Boro started brightly and Marcus Haber missed a good chance before the Cumbrians took the lead against the run of play. Danny Cadamarteri’s pass found Matty Robson and he drilled it past Chris Day into the far corner. But it wasn’t enough and when Collin spilled Lucas Akins’ shot, Shroot was on hand to tuck it home.
Boro: Day, Gray, N’Gala, Roberts, Charles, Tansey (Akins), Grant, Dunne, Morais (Shroot), Haber (Thalassitis), Freeman
Subs not used: Arnold, Ashton, Furlonge, Ball
Team News:
Carlisle have doubts over striker Danny Cadamarteri and defender Chris Chantler for this game through injury so Greg Abbott is likely to stick with the same starting eleven that beat league leaders Tranmere 1-0 last weekend.
Stevenage could stick with the same team that saw off Notts County in midweek to secure a vital home win. Luke Freeman will be hoping for a start though after a bright appearance from the bench whilst Marcus Haber will also be looking for a recall after coming on to score the second goal. Jon Ashton is out for the season.
The Carlisle Scout Report
Recent Form:
Carlisle come into this game unbeaten in three games after wins against Tranmere (1-0) and Coventry (1-0) and a 1-1 draw with Scunthorpe. This has been a drastic improvement on recent form which saw the Cumbrians lose seven of their previous 10 league matches.
United have the 17th best home form in League 1 this season with five wins, three draws and seven defeats from their 15 games at Brunton Park, during which time they’ve scored 21 and conceded 30. Whilst home fans have only seen league victories over Coventry, Bury, Hartlepool, Oldham and Portsmouth this season, it’s worth noting that three of these have been since Christmas. They’ve also seen off Ebbsfleet (4-2), Accrington Stanley (1-0) and Ipswich Town (2-1) in cup competitions too.
Possible Carlisle line-up for Saturday (4-4-2 formation):
Mark Gillespie; Frank Simek, Sean O’Hanlon, Danny Livesey, Matty Robson; Jon-Paul McGovern, Paul Thirlwell, James Berrett, Andy Welsh; Lee Miller, Rory Loy
Subs from: Peter Murphy, Liam Noble, Chris Chantler, Danny Cadamarteri, Brad Potts, Dave Symington, Mark Beck, Adam Collin
Key Man:
Matty Robson is proving a key player for Carlisle this season, scoring seven goals and putting in some excellent performances on the left flank. The versatile 28-year old, who can play at full back or on the wing has struck three times in his last four home games, helping United to earn nine vital points, and has recently been described as ‘priceless’ by Carlisle boss Greg Abbott.
Stat Attack:
• The referee for this game will be Nigel Miller from County Durham whose last Boro match was the 1-0 playoff semi-final defeat at Sheffield United back in May.
• Luke Freeman could make his 60th appearance for Stevenage at Carlisle whilst Steve Beleck and Dani Lopez could both play in their fifth games for the club.
• A goal for Mark Roberts will be the skipper’s 25th for the club since joining in 2008.