Carlisle United’s youngsters take centre stage tonight when they take on Plymouth Argyle in the third round of the FA Youth Cup.
It’s a game being shown live at 7pm on CUTYV.
Youth team boss Mark Birch told the United website: “I think we’re feeling confident. I think everybody’s looking forward to the night and the occasion.
“Fontwell are a very front-foot team, a bit like us to be honest.
“We’re expecting a tough game but I think it’s two teams that seem to be evenly matched but we’ll see how the night goes.
“I think we’ve got most people back and there’s only Will Nicholson who’s long-term injury now, from there everyone’s got a clean bill of health so the S&Cs and the physios within the team have done a great job getting them back to not just coming back from injury but maintaining the fitness levels as well.”
Having found the net in Altrincham and Barnsley in round one and two, respectively, Lewis Lambert is one of many players who could provide a selection headache going into this one.
“Lewis always gives us headaches for selection because he’s a good player, but sometimes I don’t think he believes in what a good player he can be
“Every time he’s been called upon he’s done a great job for the team and he does score goals, not just your normal goals.
“If you get the ball onto his left-foot, he’s capable of smashing them from anywhere.
“With everybody being back now we’ve got James Murray who’s been out for a while, we’ve got Seb Mason who’s been out for quite a few weeks, Mason Fleming coming back who’s been out since pre-season, so everybody seems to be coming back at the right time and I’d say we’ve got some selection issues.”
The Blues progressed to this stage with a 4-1 win (AET) against Altrincham, and a 1-0 win at Barnsley.
