It may have been a case of Carlisle United taking out some frustration on their opponents when Millwall found themselves on the end of a four-goal Brunton Park thrashing in December 1969.

The 4-0 win they achieved was, at that point, their biggest win of the season and it came in the middle of a campaign of drama – and heartbreak – on different fronts.

Bob Stokoe’s team had, by that stage in 1969/70, made club history by marching to the last four of the League Cup.

A semi-final with West Brom had seen United leading the tie with just 37 minutes remaining in the second leg, with Wembley in tantalising sight thanks to Frank Barton’s first leg goal.

A four-goal Baggies reply, though, ended their cup final dream and left Stokoe’s side to focus on making progress in Division Two and the FA Cup.

When Millwall arrived on December 13, they actually faced a Carlisle team in need of a winter tonic in the league.

United had gone eight games without a win, a run including five straight defeats, and this had seen a promising start fade into mid-table.

You would never have known this by the way they set about the Lions in front of 6,214 fans on December 13. New defender Joe Davis, signed from Hibernian, was given his home debut, but it was at the other end that United truly shone.

They began on the front foot, threatening in the third minute when Willie Brown just failed to meet a Tommy Murray cross and, two minutes later, they made the first breakthrough with a goal that owed much to the industry and anticipation of Bob Hatton.

He first dispossessed a Millwall defender and, with keeper Bryan King out of his goal, waited until Brown arrived in support. The latter raced in to head the cross home and it was the first strike back at a side who had beaten the Blues 4-2 earlier in the campaign at the Den.

Millwall tried to respond, Keith Weller forcing a good save from Allan Ross, but United remained in charge and extended their lead on the 20-minute mark.

This time, it was Hatton who found the net with a firm finish after some hesitant defending had allowed the ball to land in the frontman’s path.

That was a severe blow to the visitors’ chances of taking anything back to south London and, when Harry Cripps fluffed a good chance for Benny Fenton’s team before half-time, United’s prospects of victory seemed secure.

After the break, they set about trying to increase their advantage further.

Hatton was regularly on the attack again and both Chris Balderstone and George McVitie went close from the edge of the box, the latter seeing a shot pushed narrowly over the crossbar.

After Ross had impressively denied Derek Possee at the other end, Carlisle applied further pressure which forced their clinching third goal. It came after Derek Hemstead had seen a shot blocked and, from the Blues’ next attack, Brown broke the offside trap and saw his cross slashed into his own net by his Millwall namesake Brian.

This own-goal calamity for the away side came before the hour mark and made the rest of the game something of a procession – accompanied by the relief that United had, at last, rediscovered their range in the league.

They nearly added a fourth when Tommy Murray hit a fine attempt from 20 yards which had King scrambling to push it away. Then they did grab another, via the classy Balderstone, who seemed to have lost the initial chance when he hesitated on the ball, and was forced to pass instead of shoot, but when Brown returned it into the box, Balderstone sent a first-time shot beyond King.

It was as emphatic as Stokoe could possibly have hoped for and only a margin of inches prevented Balderstone and Hemstead from making it five.

At the back, meanwhile, Davis performed well enough to suggest he would prove a solid addition.

Stokoe’s time with United was, though, coming to an end, with the manager leaving for Blackpool mid-campaign and the Blues replacing him with Ian MacFarlane.

They finished 12th in the second tier, well-placed to continue building in what would prove a memorable first half of the 1970s.

The FA Cup also had drama in store, for United advanced to the fifth round – the second furthest they have ever reached – before going out to Middlesbrough in front of an all-time record Brunton Park crowd of 27,500.

The campaign was also notable in a less likely way. February’s trip to Portsmouth in the league saw one of legendary goalkeeper Ross’s record 549 appearances – but this one his solitary outfield game, as he came on as a substitute for the injured Peter Garbutt.

United: Ross, Hemstead, Davis, Ternent, Winstanley, Balderstone, W Brown, Barton, Hatton, Murray, McVitie. Sub: Hassell.

Millwall: King, B Brown, Cripps, Dorney, Kitchener, Burnett, Possee, Jacks, Weller, Dunphy, Alder. Sub: Neil.