Penrith have a little longer to wait for their game this weekend.
They are travelling to Bradford on Sunday to take on Campion FC in the FA Vase competition.
Campion currently play in the North Eastern Counties Premier Division and are currently mid-table, but unbeaten in three games.
The have had two home draws and an away win for five points.
After an impressive 2-1 away win at Golcar on the opening day, Campion battled to a hard-fought 1-1 draw with Pickering before suffering back-to-back cup and league frustrations – a 3-0 Emirates FA Cup defeat to Trafford and a late heartbreak against Handsworth where two last-minute goals saw the game finish 2-2.
Despite those setbacks, performances have been strong, and the attacking threat of Paddy Sykes and the creativity of Aidan Day will certainly be on Jim Nichols’ radar when he briefs his Penrith team about the opposition.
The man to watch seems to be Sykes who has scored five in five matches since his return to the club.
In his first spell with the club Sykes played 134 games and scored 67 goals.
He had a season with Bradford Park Avenue and although he featured in over 40 games, a lot were from the bench but he still managed 12 goals.
Because he wanted more game time, and Campion wanted him back, a deal was done for this season.
Penrith expect a tough game and manager Nichols might be happy that they have an extra day to recover from their mid-week 2-2 draw at Newcastle Benfield in the Northern League.
He said: “It wasn’t a good game at all, mainly because of the state of the pitch.
“I said right from the start it wasn’t a pitch for getting the ball down and trying to play decent football.
“In the end it was frustrating to be denied a win because of another late goal.”
If Penrith are the last Cumbrians in action this weekend, Carlisle City are the first as they host West Allotment tonight (7.45pm) at Gillford Park.
It’s the club’s first try at Friday night football and they are looking for an improved attendance.
Certainly manager Dan Kirkup will be looking for a return to winning ways after two successive defeats.
They were beaten 4-1 at home by Kendal Town and then lost 3-0 at high-flying Whitley Bay.
That has rather put a dampener on what had been a very good start to the season but Celtic provide an opportunity for the Sky Blues to put in a performance.
The visitors are next to bottom with just one win in five games and four defeats, conceding 12 goals in the process.
City, proud early leaders of Division One, are down to tenth but still just two points off the top five.
Kemdal Town are just a point outside the early play-off places in seventh and they are one of the form teams after losing their opening game to Newcastle Benfield.
After Tuesday’s FA Cup replay win they are at home again in the league to Whickham who are currently third bottom without a win to their name.
But they have drawn three times and only lost twice, the most recent on Wednesday when they went down 3-0 at home to Horden.
Kendal manager Matt Flynn has a few injuries at the moment, including skipper Bailey Kenny, but also has players champing at the bit to get a run in the side.
Flynn might be having an extra long natter with the Whickham manager at some point seeking information on their mid-week conquerors as Horden are due at Parkside on Tuesday.
