It was an unfortunate ending to a much-improved display from Carlisle United as they suffered a 1-0 loss at Newport County.

Having read reports from Saturday’s match, I think it’s the first time this season where, from a Carlisle perspective, goalkeeper Adam Collin doesn’t regularly get a mention. Sometimes this term, it has been the Collin show, but that didn’t seem to be the case against County.

I’m sure the Blues contingent were gutted on the considerable journey back from Wales after substitute George Nurse struck a last-minute winner for the Exiles against the Cumbrians at Rodney Parade.

If Carlisle had been able to hold on until the end, I’m sure most supporters would have considered a point to be a good point against Michael Flynn’s high-flying team. But, hopefully, manager Steven Pressley and his players are remaining upbeat and can take the positives from their performance.

Fair play to Newport for the start to the season they have had but, despite their good form, they only attracted 3,681 fans to last weekend’s match. It just goes to show supporters take a lot of dragging back once they decide they are no longer regularly going to attend matches.

At the moment, the attendances at Brunton Park aren’t great, but I think Carlisle could still attract crowds of 6,000 or 7,000 if the team can string a run of positive results together.

This weekend, the Blues will hope to build on those positives from their display at Newport when they welcome Crewe to Brunton Park.

I think, tomorrow, Carlisle fans will be looking for a little bit more of a spark from the attacking players like Nathan Thomas - although it sounds like he might not have recovered from illness in time - and Harry McKirdy. I think, if those kind of players can help to create something, then that could give the home fans something to get excited about.

David Artell’s Crewe side are fourth in League Two. But they have conceded 14 goals from their 12 league fixtures so far this term which means, if United can up their game a little bit, they might be able to cause them one or two problems.

A fortnight ago in their last home fixture, United managed to grind out a 1-0 win over Oldham. But it wasn’t a great performance from the Cumbrians that day, with Olufela Olomola scoring the only goal, although at least they got the all-important three points.

For Carlisle at the moment, I think it’s all about just trying to find a bit of consistency.

Hopefully, it will happen sooner rather than later, otherwise the Blues could find themselves cut adrift from the race for play-off places and stuck in the bottom half of the table.

It was great to see rising Cumbrian goalkeeper Dean Henderson, who actually began his career at Brunton Park before he signed for Manchester United, earn his first-ever senior call-up into England’s squad. Gareth Southgate’s team travel to Czech Republic tonight (7.45pm kick-off), before a trip to play Bulgaria on Monday.

I know he made a mistake against Liverpool recently in a 1-0 loss to Jurgen Klopp's team, but Henderson has been consistent for loan club Sheffield United this term - bar that error.

Seeing what the Whitehaven-born lad has gone on to achieve is a good advert for football in Cumbria.