The only way was up for Carlisle United when they faced Grimsby Town in the 1988/9 season. A Brunton Park clash with the Mariners in November saw the Blues at their lowest ebb after a period of steep decline.

United had crashed out of the Second Division in 1986 and fallen to the basement tier a year later. A second-bottom finish came in 1987/8 and, come autumn in the following campaign, they were bottom of the entire Football League.

These were underwhelming days indeed and though there were, thankfully, better things on the horizon, the idea of brighter times must have felt remote as Clive Middlemass’s team desperately searched for wins after just two league victories from their first 16 games.

The FA Cup had, at least, offered a welcome distraction, a 4-1 replay win over Telford putting Scarborough between the Blues and the potentially lucrative third round, while there was off-field intrigue in the form of a bid to buy the club by businessman Bill Brotherton.

This was dismissed by the board, chairman Andrew Jenkins describing its details as “vague” - yet that word could well have applied to United’s future if league fortunes did not achieve a rapid upturn.

Grimsby were not faring too much better, at the wrong end of the Fourth Division, and it was with some relief that the Cumbrians got the better of them in front of a paltry 2,175 crowd.

Their victory took some time in coming given that, for the third time in as many home games, they conceded very early. Just as, against Bury recently, Jamie Devitt opened the scoring after less than half a minute, so the Mariners found the net in double-quick time here.

Their opener was even faster, coming with a princely 18 seconds on the clock. Grimsby had, like United, dropped down the divisions recently but showed gusto with their first attack, Richard O’Kelly beating keeper Dave McKellar to the ball on the right byline and pulling it back to midfielder John Cockerill, who found the empty net from six yards out.

That set the tone for a frustrating first half which had a familiar air. Carlisle struggled to test visiting keeper Paul Reece, while United survived an uncharacteristic error at the other end from skipper Nigel Saddington, whose backpass gifted Grimsby striker Keith Alexander a chance.

Simon Jeffels raced back to tackle Alexander and United were grateful for his intervention, which happened to be his last of the game as a blow on the head saw the defender replaced on 40 minutes. A further McKellar save from Alexander before the break kept Carlisle in it, before the second half finally saw the Blues in a more dangerous mood.

With John Halpin hitting his stride on the wing, they took just three minutes to equalise. Striker Brent Hetherington sent Gary Marshall through with a ball down the right, and the winger beat Reece to the ball and saw his chipped finish defy defender Paul Agnew’s attempts to keep it out of the net.

The leveller resulted in a more even contest breaking out and proved one of few real openings until Halpin sparked the small crowd into life by setting up Hetherington for a near miss.

Grimsby boss Alan Buckley withdrew the tall Alexander and introduced a midfielder, but their attempt to consolidate with a point was dashed by a superb Carlisle winner which felt out of context with the scrappy nature of the game.

It came in the 82nd minute, Paul Gorman threading a pass to Halpin, and when the Scot crossed from the byline, Hetherington arrived to smash it home from close range.

It was an eighth goal of the campaign from the local-born frontman, and enough to clinch a 2-1 victory which saw United climb to third bottom. A couple more wins in December began the process of easing relegation concerns and Middlemass’ side produced a much more impressive second half of the campaign, eventually finishing 12th.

The season was significant in other competitions, meanwhile. An infamous Steve Richards own-goal saw United oust Scarborough in the FA Cup and land Liverpool for a third round tie which brought 18,556 fans to Brunton Park, Middlemass’s side taking on Barnes, Beardsley, McMahon and co.

They also faced the top-flight giants in that season’s FA Youth Cup. The result – a 3-0 defeat – was the same, while a teenage Steve Harkness caught the eye of Kenny Dalglish at Anfield that night, leading to a dream summer move to Merseyside for the Carlisle lad.

United: McKellar, Graham, Walsh, Saddington, Jeffels (Robertson), Fitzpatrick, Marshall, Gorman, Stephens (Sendall), Hetherington, Halpin.

Grimsby: Reece, McDermott, Agnew, Tillson, Lever, Cunington, North, Saunders, O’Kelly, Cockerill, Alexander (Watson). Not used: Jobling.

Crowd: 2,175.