With Carlisle United’s first pre-season game to be played tomorrow us at Paddock Perception wanted to give you a run down of who Mark Hughes’ side is playing and when.
The fixtures have been an interesting choice with one team from Scotland, one team from League Two and the others from further down the football pyramid than the blues themselves.
Motherwell
On Tuesday 8th July, kick off time at 2pm, Carlisle will get their pre-season underway as they travel across the border to SPFL side Motherwell. This game will be played behind closed doors but will be the first chance for the team to gel with the new signings.
AFC Fylde
On Saturday 19th July, kick off time at 3pm, the blues will travel to National League North side Fylde. This will be the first “proper” game of pre-season and a chance for the fans to see how the team are looking ahead of the new season.
South Shields
On Tuesday 22nd July, kick off time at 7.45pm, the Cumbrians make the short trip to the North East to play National League North side South Shields. This will be another chance to see how the team is coming together ahead of a big season for Mark Hughes and his team.
Harrogate Town
On Saturday 26th July, kick off time at 3pm, Carlisle will face their toughest game of pre-season when they travel to League Two side Harrogate. This will be a real test to see what level the players are at while playing a team that has always been a thorn in their side.
Chester
In the final game of pre-season on Saturday 2nd August, kick off at 3pm, Mark Hughes takes his side to National League North side Chester. Chester lost out on promotion to the National League last season in the final to Scunthorpe so this will be a good test to see the level of the team before the start of the National League season.
A Summary Of The Fixtures
Personally I would’ve liked to have seen Carlisle play more teams higher up the leagues to really test the level of the side against better outfits but pre-season is mainly about fitness and the players gelling as a team and hopefully these fixtures will serve that purpose for Mark Hughes’ side ahead of a massive season.
Thank you everyone for reading Paddock Perception, don’t forget you can follow Dan and Craig on X for more football content:
@dan_batemannn
@CraigWL1997
Paddock Perception 
Leave a comment