Cumbrians down after draw
Carlisle v Millwall
Carlisle find themselves in the bottom four ahead of the visit from high-flying Millwall to Brunton Park as the Cumbrians look to escape relegation on the very last day of the season.
Greg Abbott’s men could only claim a disappointing 1-1 draw at fellow strugglers Cheltenham on Saturday as Drissa Diallo’s 82nd minute penalty snatched a point for the Robins to leave United two points adrift of safety and deep in trouble.
Ian Harte’s thunderous free-kick handed the visitors the advantage but after Evan Horwood was dismissed for two yellow cards midway through the second period, Michael Bridges saw red for handball in the area to give the hosts the chance of levelling matters.
The Blues – who will now be without the pair through suspension – are without a win in 11 and, having drawn 5 out of their last 6 encounters, are lacking confidence ahead of the crunch clash from which they must pick up all three points to stand any chance of survival.
Their visitors arrive in Cumbria flying high in League One and guaranteed a play-off place as Kenny Jackett’s side arrive on the back of a narrow home win over local rivals Leyton Orient.
Gary Alexander scored twice against his former club to seal the points after Simon Church had put the visitors ahead and the Lions’ leading marksmen celebrated by putting pen to paper on a new two-year contract at the New Den.
The South London outfit, however, have struggled for consistency in recent weeks and after two successive defeats on the road, will be keen to head into the play-offs in good spirit.
But while Millwall can look forward to a possible date at Wembley, the play-offs are a distant memory for Carlisle from 12 months ago who, instead, are just 90 minutes away from plummeting into League Two.
Verdict: Carlisle 1-1 Millwall