Carlisle United will play the villain act on Saturday lunchtime as the Cumbrians aim to spoil Derby County’s promotion party at Pride Park.
After 45 matches in League One, it all boils down to this moment for Derby; a chance to seal promotion back to the Championship in front of a sell-out crowd.
With Bolton Wanderers trailing by three points and an inferior goal difference, the Rams require just a point against Carlisle to send Pride Park into pandemonium.
In terms of opponents on the final day, Paul Warne‘s men couldn’t have asked for much better on paper. Carlisle are rooted to the bottom of League One and their relegation to League Two was confirmed following a 2-0 defeat to Northampton Town at the start of this month.
Despite having nothing to play for, Warne is under no allusion that this isn’t going to be an easy test as the Cumbrians will likely sit in a low block and could prove difficult to break down.
Most of their squad will also be playing for contracts or moves elsewhere, so while there isn’t anything riding on the fixture as a team, it does hold significant importance individually.
The visitors would also love to end their abysmal campaign with a bang by pulling off an upset against the odds.
Harrison Neal is determined to spoil Derby County’s promotion party
Carlisle midfielder Harrison Neal has been a rare shining light for the club this season having played 25 games in League One.
The 22-year-old has started in the last 16 matches but during that period, Paul Simpson’s side have collected just three victories.
Speaking to Carlisle’s official website ahead of their trip to Derbyshire, Neal accepts it’s going to be a tough challenge but he’s determined to spoil the Rams promotion party.
“We want to give them something to cheer about,” Neal said. “Obviously there’s a good following going and we just want to use that and hopefully we can mess people up on the last game.”
He added: “It’s going to be tough, yeah.
“These are the games that you want to play in, live on Sky and a sell-out crowd.
“Hopefully we can go and do our job and then see where it gets us.
“Whatever happens, it’s not going to change the outcome for us so we’ve just got to try and influence the game as much as possible and hopefully win it.”
An early goal for Derby County will be key
This contest may hinge on who can score the first goal and if it’s Derby who achieve that, you see no way back for Carlisle and the Rams will have a foot in the Championship.
However, if Warne’s men fail to score in the opening exchanges, nerves and tension in the stadium will build and that will only offer the visitors encouragement.
Derby can ill afford to let this happen and must score an early goal to ease the nerves.
It wouldn’t be the end of the world if they didn’t, as one point is enough to secure a top-two finish, but it would ensure supporters could breathe a little easier.
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