CARLISLE United coach Mark Birch has piled the praise on young Blues striker Freddie O'Donoghue after his 'outstanding' performance in the first round of the Fred Conway Cumberland Cup.

The striker was 'Johnny on the spot' to fire home as Carlisle kicked off their 2024/25 county cup campaign with a goal inside 10 seconds against West Cumbrian side Workington Juniors.

Trent Chapman was also on the scoresheet as the Blues booked their place in the second round of the competition at Carlisle City's Gilford Park.

The squad fielded by Carlisle and led by Mark Birch, Stephen Rudd, and Jamie Devitt consisted of the club's youth players who revelled in the opportunity to get senior football under their belt.

After their victory, Carlisle United's lead professional development phase coach was on hand to assess the performance and the valuable experience gained by some of the club's young rising stars.

He said: "For these lads, it may be the first time they have played in the Cumberland Cup. They may have made a few appearances as an under-16 but it is a learning curve for them, a different kind of game.

"It was a lot more physical than they usually get and I thought they did very well.

"We fielded mainly first years tonight and it is a great experience for them. Hopefully as we go through the competition we can get some of the older lads involved.

"It is all about giving them experience and giving them different types of challenges and through being out here tonight they will be a better player than they were yesterday."

Birch also highlighted O'Donoghue's performance which saw him torment the Workington Junior's defensive line with enterprising runs and creative movement. However he insisted that the young striker needs to maintain his hunger.

He said: "Freddie needs games, he was a threat and he was lively.

"I think the biggest thing for Freddie is to maintain his appetite for football and keep getting out there and playing football and that is what we want for all of the lads. 

"He has been maybe lacking a few games and a few goals but tonight he was outstanding."

Carlisle will now face former defender Dan Kirkup's Carlisle City in the second round of the Cumberland Cup, another opportunity for the club to strengthen its ties with other Cumbrian teams.

He said: "That is what we want, we want to have links with local clubs.

"We have used Carlisle City's ground tonight and it was fantastic and now we play them in the next round."