League Two: Carlisle United to face Barrow again as Bluebirds blow play-offs

Carlisle United will renew rivalries with Barrow next season after the south Cumbrians’ League Two promotion hopes were dashed on the last day.

The Bluebirds missed out on a play-off place after only managing a draw with promoted Mansfield Town at Holker Street.

It meant an eighth-placed finish for Pete Wild’s side, who have been in the promotion race for much of the campaign but saw their efforts end in final-day agony.

They missed out on a top-seven place by one point as Crawley Town snatched seventh with a 2-0 win over Grimsby Town, Barrow's end-of-season run of seven games without a win that yielded just two points proving costly.

The League Two play-offs will be contested by MK Dons, Doncaster Rovers, Crewe Alexandra and Crawley, with Barrow and Bradford City – who also had the chance of forcing their way in – missing out on the last day.

It means Carlisle will also face a reunion in 2024/25 with 2023’s play-off semi-final opponents the Bantams, who missed out by a point this time despite a run of five straight wins concluding with a 4-1 victory over Newport County.

At the other end of the fourth tier, United will be heading to Colchester United again – but not Sutton United.

The Essex club held onto their EFL status with a 1-1 draw against Crewe.

That kept Danny Cowley’s side up in second bottom place, with Sutton three points adrift in second bottom, returning to the National League after a last-day 4-4 draw at MK Dons. The south London club join Forest Green Rovers in being relegated.

Carlisle, meanwhile, will also take on Cheltenham Town again next season after the Robins failed to avoid relegation from League One on the final day.

Darrell Clarke’s side lost 2-1 at Stevenage, meaning they finished fourth bottom, two points adrift of Burton Albion, who survived in the third tier despite losing 3-0 at already relegated Fleetwood Town.

United, Fleetwood, Cheltenham and Port Vale all come down from League One.

Chesterfield will take on United having won the National League, while the others hoping to join them in the play-offs are Bromley, Solihull Moors and Altrincham.

Solihull's 4-0 semi-final win at Barnet on Saturday took them to Wembley, and means all three of the remaining play-off contenders have never played Carlisle in the Football League.

United now know 19 of the sides they'll face next season following their relegation, with the play-offs in the fourth and fifth tiers to confirm the other four in the coming weeks.

Here is a list of Carlisle’s confirmed opponents in League Two next season so far:

ACCRINGTON STANLEY

AFC WIMBLEDON

BARROW

BRADFORD CITY

CHELTENHAM TOWN

CHESTERFIELD

COLCHESTER UNITED

FLEETWOOD TOWN

GILLINGHAM

GRIMSBY TOWN

HARROGATE TOWN

MORECAMBE

NEWPORT COUNTY

NOTTS COUNTY

PORT VALE

SALFORD CITY

SWINDON TOWN

TRANMERE ROVERS

WALSALL