Newport County AFC take on Carlisle United on Tuesday evening, looking to follow on from their hard-fought victory on the weekend. It’s a long trip for County that kicks off three away fixtures in a row, but an important game for Carlisle in their bid for safety.
Here, you can find all the facts and statistics ahead of this League Two matchup...
Carlisle United in League Two so far
Carlisle currently sit in 20th place in League Two after amassing 39 points from their 36 matches so far.
United have struggled for consistent results this season, after winning their first match of 2019/20. Despite this, they did win 4-1 away at Forest Green in January.
In November, Steven Pressley was replaced as manager by Chris Beech after a run of poor results.
Team News
Joss Labadie returns for the Exiles after missing the last two games through his recent suspension. Michael Flynn also expects ‘one or two’ to return to the matchday squad for Tuesday.
Carlisle could bring Byron Webster back into the side after missing the weekend’s trip to Colchester through suspension.
One to Watch – Harry McKirdy
Attacker Harry McKirdy has proved himself to be an all-round threat to opposition defences this season. The 22-year-old has five goals in League Two as well as four assists.
McKirdy also has five FA Cup goals, including two against Cardiff in a Third Round replay.
McKirdy was also part of the NCAFC squad last season (pictured celebrating away at Morecambe at the final regular League match of last season), after joining on loan in January 2019. During his time at Rodney Parade, he made 12 appearances and scored one goal.
Head Coach – Chris Beech
This is Chris Beech’s first job as a full-time Head Coach, after leaving as Rochdale’s assistant manager. Beech was also caretaker manager at Rochdale for a month in 2012.
Beech replaced Steven Pressley after he left Brunton Park in November.
Since his appointment, the Blues have won four matches and drawn eight in their effort to distance themselves from the relegation zone.
Last Meeting Between the Sides
When the teams met at Rodney Parade earlier in the season, County came out on top 1-0.
A George Nurse winner in the sixth minute of injury time gave County all three points in a tight affair in South Wales.
Both sides had chances, but it was Nurse’s 25-yard strike that separated the sides at the full-time whistle.
Officials
Referee: Graham Salisbury
Assistant Referee 1: Natalie Aspinall
Assistant Referee 2: Matthew Parry
Fourth Official: Paul Newhouse
Graham Salisbury is currently in his 19th season as an EFL referee and at 57, is the oldest referee in the Football League. Salisbury has already officiated two County matches this season, both against Macclesfield Town.
So far this season, he has refereed 27 games in which he has shown 84 yellow cards and two red cards.
This follows on from last season where he officiated 35 matches. In those matches, he gave 120 yellow cards and four reds.
Can’t make the match?
You can follow along on social media using @NCAFCLive on Twitter, or via the Club’s official Facebook, Snapchat (OfficialExiles) and Instagram pages.
As the match is on a Tuesday night, a live showing of this fixture will occur on iFollow Exiles if a Match Pass is purchased. However, commentary by Tim Thraves and Ben Catton can be found at the Match Centre from 7:30pm.
An on-the-whistle match report of this match will be provided on the Club website upon the end of the game. Michael Flynn’s post-match analysis will appear on the evening of the day after the game, while you can watch all of Flynn’s post-match press conference as-well as two County players by subscribing to iFollow Exiles.