It was nice to hear Carlisle United bounced back from the home loss to Notts County with a good performance in the 1-1 draw at Forest Green.

I wasn’t at the New Lawn for the match but, from all the reports, it sounds like the Blues did enough to win the clash against their League Two play-off rivals. At least Steven Pressley’s side were creating chances, though, which bodes well for the final eight league fixtures of United’s season.

Strugglers Cambridge are the visitors to Brunton Park tomorrow and, really, it’s a must-win game with the likes of high-flying Tranmere, Bury and Lincoln to play in the coming weeks with Carlisle still only a point outside the play-off places.

Last week, I meant to congratulate on-loan Aston Villa man Callum O’Hare on his first senior goal in the 2-1 home win against Swindon and well done also to winger Nathan Thomas who opened his Carlisle account on Saturday. 

Midfielder O’Hare is becoming an extremely consistent performer and his work-rate is impressive. Even when he isn’t having his best game, he still puts the work in, as does Sheffield United loanee Regan Slater.

It’s clear to see Carlisle are lacking an out-and-out striker but that’s just the situation we are in now.

The Blues will probably be looking to use the speed of their players to unlock opposition defences now, rather than by putting crosses into the box.

United have also booked their place in the Cumberland Cup final, with the Blues’ team mostly made up of youth team players, beating Bransty Rangers 3-0 at Penrith’s Frenchfield Park on Tuesday night in their semi-final tie. Goals from Taylor Charters, Keighran Kerr and Josh Galloway sealed Carlisle’s victory. 

Well done to them. It’s a good start for those players. 

It’s also nice to see these kind of competitions are still going strong. Carlisle will play either Wigton Harriers or Penrith in the final, with those two teams set to meet tomorrow. Hopefully, it will be a good final, no matter who is playing in it.

In their meeting earlier this campaign, the Blues claimed a 2-1 victory at Cambridge in September, although both of the Cumbrians’ scorers on that day - Ashley Nadesan and Richie Bennett - are not currently with the club.

I don’t think it will be an easy game against Colin Calderwood’s men because they are not quite safe yet, currently sitting eight points ahead of the drop zone. 

So far this term, they have both scored and conceded just 12 goals in 18 away league matches. So, it would be nice to get a bit of luck early in the game and get an early goal.

Jabo Ibehre, Reggie Lambe and David Amoo are among Cambridge’s former Carlisle contingent, although Lambe looks set to miss the match after being called into Bermuda’s squad. 

Sometimes you don’t want to say it, but it’s only natural to want to score or have a good match when you come up against your old club. 

Big frontman Ibehre, in particular, is a real handful. United’s defence will have to be on their toes against him, especially from dead-ball situations.