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Sheffield Wednesday boss Alan Irvine spoke to his club's official website ahead of his side's Johnstone's Paint Trophy northern section semi-final tie against Carlisle at Brunton Park this evening, Irvine understandably happy with the recent form shown by the Owls :
" Six wins in a row is obviously very good, it's not happened at this club for a long time and it is difficult to do. We're delighted that we're scoring goals but we know that if we became complacent, we will find that things will go wrong. So it's vitally important that we are confident but never complacent or self-satisfied. Winning has become a habit for us over the last six games and we all want that to continue.
" We are only one step away from the area final and it would be fantastic if we could get there but there is a good team in the way. Carlisle have already come to Hillsborough this season and won 1-0. It was a game when we were excellent in the first half, we played some very good football but we didn't get a goal.
" Carlisle did manage to get a goal, a bit against the run of play, and from then on were probably quite comfortable. They got to the final of this competition last year and thoroughly enjoyed the occasion, albeit without getting the result they wanted and I'm sure they will be desperate to get there again. "
Meanwhile Wednesday centre-half Mark Beevers told the Yorkshire Evening Post :
" This cup is a realistic one to win. We're one of the favourites and rightly so. We're in the latter stages and should be winning it. We'll give it a good go and hopefully bring some silverware back to the club and fans as well. We won't be mentioning Wembley until we get there though. Carlisle away in midweek is a tough game, but we're in form and it should be a good one. "
In team news for the Owls this evening they only have two players who have recently picked up injuries, the pair being defensive duo Lewis Buxton and Jon Otsemobor who are suffering with respective hamstring and calf problems and are rated as doubtful to take any part in tonight's game.
Historically over the years at Brunton Park, Carlisle and Sheffield Wednesday have faced each other on 13 occasions, with United winning five, drawing five and losing three. The last fixture in Cumbria came in the 2003-04 season in the only time before that the clubs have played each other in the Associate Members Trophy. The Owls winning easily 3-0 in the northern section quarter-finals thanks to goals from Mark Robins (2) and Graeme Lee in front of 2,869 spectators.
Wednesday reached the semi-final stage this season meanwhile by winning 2-1 at home to Notts County in the first round before drawing 2-2 at Hillsborough against Chesterfield, and then subsequently winning that tie 8-7 after a lengthy penalty shootout. Tonight being the first away match for the Owls in the competition this year as they then went on to defeat Hartlepool 4-1 at home in the quarter-finals.
Despite losing 1-0 at home to Carlisle in the league earlier this season, the visitors are currently on an excellent run of form having lost only two of their last fourteen games. That sequence of matches also including a current six game winning run in which the Owls have scored a bumper 21 goals, the club itself also boosted by the takeover this week headed by Milan Mandaric in which the Hillsborough outfit will move forward free of any residual debt.
The referee for this evening's match is David Webb from Stanley in County Durham, and he will be assisted down the lines by Dave McCallum from Wallsend and Scott Oldham from Poulton-le-Fylde, near Blackpool. Meanwhile the fourth official is Darren Bond from Wigan.
One job for the refereeing crew this evening may be to run yet another Brunton Park penalty shootout after 90 minutes if the scores are still level, with no extra-time on the agenda. Under other Johnstone's Paint Trophy rules, a club must include in its starting line-up at least six of the 11 players who started the club's previous game or at least six of the 11 players who have made the most starts in league and domestic cup competitions since the start of the season.