By Malcolm Nugent - CUOSC

The Blues will bow out at Brunton Park in front of their biggest crowd of the season on Saturday – but they will be hoping to set-up an encore at Wembley.

It looks like more than 14,000 will pack Brunton Park for the League Two play-off decider against Bradford City.

The Blues trail 1-0 after the first leg but are confident they can bounce back to reach the play-off final against either Stockport or Salford at Wembley on Sunday, May 28.

It should be a brilliant atmosphere with home fans, like they have done all season, determined to make a difference.

The Warwick Road End fans group, who have already given Brunton Park a big lift this year, have launched another ‘Let’s turn Brunton Blue’ initiative.

Their ‘GoFundMe’ campaign to obtain funds to buy balloons, ticker tape and blue paraphernalia raised nearly £500 in just a few hours.

They plan to distribute the items around all sides of Brunton Park before the match. Come on You Blues!

Fans also did some good work before the first leg at Bradford. In a great gesture they laid a wreath at the Valley Parade memorial remembering the 56 supporters that tragically died in the Bradford City fire in May 1985.

They wanted to show their regret that a minute’s silence during last season’s meeting between the clubs was interrupted by a few unruly United fans

The message on the wreath said simply: “Carlisle United remember the 56. The minority do not represent the majority.”

More than £1,800 was raised by a ‘GoFundMe’ campaign started by fans group Flags for United. 

The message also confirmed that a donation will be made to the Bradford Burns Unit, as well as to the family of Neil Matthews, the Bantams' academy manager, who died following a battle with cancer, aged 56.

CUOSC held one of our regular board meetings last week. The meeting discussed the TV deal recently agreed between EFL and Sky which will come into operation in 2024/25 season.

It will provide a cash boost for the club, but concerns were raised about the impact on supporters, due to staggered kick off times. The devil may yet prove to be in the detail.

The future direction and branding/identity of CUOSC was once again on the agenda including options for increasing income to support the club with new projects.

It was also confirmed that we plan to continue to support the Blues Ladies team next season.

For more information on CUOSC visit our website at www.cuosc.org.uk It costs £10 for an adult to join for one year, and £5 for seniors and under-18s.