Colchester United are back in action on the road this weekend, aiming for a record-breaking victory at Brunton Park against Carlisle United.
Matt Bloomfield’s side have already equalled the club record with five consecutive away wins (Gillingham, Harrogate, Rochdale, Hartlepool, Grimsby), but will be looking to go one better when they face off against the third-placed Cumbrians on Saturday afternoon.
Heading into the game in good form, unbeaten in their last five, the U’s collected another point on Tuesday evening with the goalless draw against Walsall at the JobServe Community Stadium.
But the Head Coach and his backroom staff could have a couple of personnel decisions to make this weekend after Luke Chambers limped off Tuesday, with Cole Skuse also sitting it out.
The Opposition
Sitting third in the standings, Paul Simpson will want his side to bounce back from a heavy home defeat on Tuesday evening. The Cumbrians lost 4-0 on their own patch to fellow promotion-chasers Mansfield Town, with all four goals coming in the first half at Brunton Park.
A result that compacted the race for the final automatic promotion spot, there’s now just four points separating third and eighth – with the Carlisle boss asking the fans and players to stick together for the last fifteen games of the season.
“The fortunate thing, and in League Two especially, is that a game comes around again really quickly. We don’t have a lot of time to get screwed up about it, we have to deal with it and react.
“We’ve all got to stick together and the staff will support the players, or hopefully they players will support each other. Hopefully the supporters will keep supporting because they’ve been absolutely fantastic.”
The top scorers in the division, seventeen of Carlisle’s forty-eight strikes have come from the League Two leader Kristian Dennis.
The thirty-two-year-old arrived on an eighteen-month contract from St Mirren last January and is enjoying his best season since the 2017/18 campaign with Chesterfield where he hit nineteen in forty-three league matches.
With goals come assists, and the Cumbrians also hold two of the leading assist makers in the league. Owen Moxon has the joint most in the league with ten (alongside Ben Whitfield and Elliot Watt), with Jordan Gibson just three behind with seven to his name.
Further back in the team, there will be a familiar face to the former Ipswich players in the U’s squad with Tomas Holy in goal. The 6ft 9 shot-stopper boasts the record of the tallest player in English football, and transferred from the Tractor Boys in the summer.
Last Time We Met
The U's played out a 1-1 draw with the Cumbrians last time the two met. Noah Chilvers gave his side the lead before Kristian Dennis levelled the tie on a hot day in August.
Ticket Info
Tickets are available to purchase from the U's Ticket Office until 2pm on Friday 17th February. After then, they will be available to purchase on the day from the hosts with prices increasing by £3.
Click HERE for more information on tickets.
iFollow
If you can't make it to the game on Saturday, you can keep up with it via iFollow. Audio Passes (£2.50 each) are available to everyone and Video Passes (£10 each) are available to fans outside the UK. Click HERE to see what options are available for you.
