Mariners go in search of much-needed win as they face out-of-form
Cumbrians
GRIMSBY Town make the long trip to Carlisle United this evening as they go in search of a much-needed victory in their ongoing relegation battle.
The Mariners fell further adrift at the bottom of League Two following their defeat to Forest Green Rovers on Saturday, and are in desperate need of some points as they look to catch up on Barrow and Southend.
They can take some hope though from their opponents’ form this evening, with Carlisle having taken just one point from their last seven games as they’ve seen their promotion hopes falter.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of this evening’s game, including the latest injury news for both sides and match odds…
That’s the kind of performance we’ve got to give between now and the end of the season.
Mariners boss Paul Hurst
Injury and team news
Idris El Mizouni is out for the Mariners, and is set to find out the full extent of his hamstring injury after being forced off during Saturday’s defeat at the hands of Forest Green.
Mattie Pollock is set to miss out again after reporting to training yesterday with a groin problem.
Harry Clifton misses out again, with the midfielder not expected back for at least another couple of weeks, while long-term absentee Kyle Bennett remains out.
Meanwhile, Max Wright is back in training, although it’s unlikely he’ll feature this evening. As for the hosts, midfielder Danny Devine is closing in on a return from his knee injury having returned to training, although tonight’s encounter will likely be too early for him to make his comeback.
Defender Morgan Feeney is also expected to be out, having broken his foot in training not long after signing for Carlisle in January. Midfielder Callum Guy could be back in contention though, having missed the Cumbrians’ last couple of games in order to be with his partner for the arrival of their child.
Match odds
Despite their poor run of form, Carlisle are the overwhelming favourites for this evening’s game at Brunton Park. The Cumbrians have been priced up at 3/5 with Betfred, with the Mariners firm outsiders at 9/2 – you can get the draw at 3/1.
If you’re anticipating an end-to-end encounter, then you can get odds of 9/4 for over 3.5 goals in the game, or 5/1 for over 4.5 goals.
But if you think it’s going to be a much quieter night for the two goalkeepers, it’s 5/2 for under 1.5 goals, and 8/1 for under 0.5 goals.
What happened last time?
James McKeown will be eager to forget all about the Mariners’ last meeting with Carlisle. Town were denied their first home win of the season when the Cumbrians visited Blundell Park back in October as a huge mistake from the goalkeeper resulted in a 1-1 draw. It was the hosts who edged themselves in front through an unlikely source. Having won a corner, Luke Hendrie flicked on George Williams’ cross, with the ball falling nicely into the centre of the penalty area for Mattie Pollock to smash the ball home for his first professional goal for the club. Having held firm for the remainder of the half, hopes were high that Town could go on to claim their first home win of the season – but that all fell apart as disaster struck for McKeown just a minute after the break.
Luke Waterfall passed the ball back to his goalkeeper and, in attempting to move it on to Pollock, the Mariners skipper swept the ball into his own net to bring the visitors back into the game.
It would prove to be the decisive moment in the match, with neither side really threatening to take the lead as a severe lack of quality ruled in Cleethorpes.
What the managers are saying…
On his side’s poor form, Carlisle boss Chris Beech said: “Frustration follows through into everything you are, especially when you do your job with respect.
“I don’t take the mick out of the role I’ve got. I’m very proud of what we do and have been doing. It hurts. The fans…it hurts. But we do [hurt] and the players do.”
Reflecting on the defeat to Forest Green, Mariners boss Paul Hurst said: “No-one likes losing, but I can at least put my head down and think that they had a go.
“I think that’s all the fans want to see, and they did that. That’s the kind of performance we’ve got to give between now and the end of the season, and if you do, at some point your luck will change.”