December 2010

The Cumbrians' extraordinary love affair with the trophy continued when they marched another step closer to Wembley in a night of drama at Brunton Park, winning 3-1 against the Owls.

Despite the heavy snowfall, the game survived the cold snap, though it was a close call, with pitch markings being dyed blue and fans having to park in a local industrial estate due to the frozen parking facilities at Brunton Park.

It was the only one of three area semi-finals to beat the arctic conditions, with games at Tranmere Rovers and Bristol Rovers falling foul of the conditions.

Whatever the weather, Greg Abbott's side relishes a Johnstone's Paint Trophy fixture and again, their free scoring side looks set to repeat the feats of last season, when they went all the way to the final.

Johnstone's Paint Trophy's sponsorship manager Teresa Hardwick said: "To get the game to go ahead took some skill and effort, let alone beating Sheffield Wednesday so impressively shortly afterwards.

"Carlisle United have always set their stall out to go as far as possible in the competition and if some cold Siberian winds and a few inches of snow can't beat them, then they really will take some stopping!"

The Cumbrians can now sit back and wait for the winners of Tranmere Rovers and Huddersfield Town in the northern area final.

Francois Zoko headed in the opener after Tom Taiwo's floated cross picked out the unmarked striker, before Lubomir Michalik crashed in a volley.

Ben Marshall then latched onto Gary Madine's pass to chip Nicky Weaver for the home side's third.

The Owls struggled to reply with Darren Purse's header only a mere consolation.

Teresa concluded: "We were obviously disappointed not to see the full quota of games go ahead, but the spirit on show at Brunton Park - both in and around the ground - more than made up for it."

Johnstone's. Bringing colour to the beautiful game.