Carlisle United will this weekend bid to knock higher-league opposition out of the FA Cup when they face Salford City – so, for inspiration, here are all the previous nine occasions in the competition when they’ve defeated sides from further up the pyramid since the Blues first joined the Football League...
November 25, 1961 – Barnsley 1 Carlisle United 2
Since becoming a Football League club in 1928, this was the first proper upset Carlisle inflicted in the FA Cup. While the Blues had experienced some valiant draws in that time – Arsenal in 1951 and Birmingham City in 1957 most famously – they broke new ground at Oakwell, as Ivor Powell’s Division Four side toppled Barnsley from Division Three. Goals from George Walker and Sammy Taylor did the damage, the latter’s winner coming after a quick-thinking throw-in from George Whitelaw, to cap a late comeback in the second-round tie, in front of 11,489 at Oakwell.
January 4, 1964 – Carlisle United 2 Queens Park Rangers 0
The most potent goalscoring season in Carlisle United’s history also delivered a memorable FA Cup victory in which the team’s two main marksmen dispatched Queens Park Rangers, who were then in the third tier compared with the Blues’ fourth. A delighted 15,359 crowd for the third-round tie saw Hugh McIlmoyle and Joe Livingstone on target for Alan Ashman’s promotion-bound Blues, who would go on to reach the fifth round for the first time.
January 27, 1968 – Newcastle United 0 Carlisle United 1
The Blues’ most famous FA Cup upset of all, as they stormed St James’ Park and knocked out the Magpies on their own soil in the third round. The heroes, in front of 56,550 fans, were the diminutive Tommy Murray, who headed home Frank Sharp’s first-half cross, and keeper Allan Ross, whose second-half penalty save from Ollie Burton sealed the win. Many others for Carlisle also starred on such a famous day, including Peter Garbutt, who helped silence the hosts’ soaring striker Wyn Davies as Tim Ward’s United, from the Second Division, stunned their top-flight hosts.
January 6, 1970 – Carlisle United 2 Nottingham Forest 1
Another occasion when the second-tier Blues brought down a First Division side in the third round. Carlisle had earned a dogged 0-0 draw at the City Ground before bringing Matt Gillies’ side back to Brunton Park. Conditions were freezing but United produced some hot stuff to claim victory, Tommy Murray once more a goalscoring hero and winger George McVitie also scoring to topple the Tricky Trees en route to the fifth round.
January 13, 1986 – Carlisle United 1 Queens Park Rangers 0
Another from the roster of famous FA Cup away days, as Bob Stokoe’s Blues got the better of QPR at home. In a season when the top-flight London club would reach the League Cup final, they had no such success in the FA Cup – as Jim Smith’s Rs fell to an early John Cooke strike in the third-round tie on a Brunton Park quagmire. A vocal 5,080 crowd enjoyed the upset, but second-tier Carlisle would then fall disappointingly to Peterborough United from the Fourth Division in the next round.
November 23, 2004 – Carlisle United 1 Bristol Rovers 0
Carlisle have form for causing upsets in their brief fifth-tier history. The first time they achieved this came under Paul Simpson in the 2004/05 season, when the Conference-dwelling Blues took on Bristol Rovers from the bottom rung of the Football League. A gutsy 0-0 draw at the Memorial Stadium led to a Brunton Park replay – and Brazilian loanee Magno Vieira pounced for the winner against a Pirates side managed by ex-Blues boss Ian Atkins.
November 4, 2017 – Carlisle United 3 Oldham Athletic 2
The only season to date in which Carlisle have enjoyed two FA Cup upsets, as Keith Curle’s League Two side kicked off their run by dumping out League One visitors Oldham at Brunton Park. Richie Bennett got two goals and Hallam Hope the other and, though the Latics staged a two-goal fightback, the Blues held on in front of 3,965 to claim victory in the first round tie.
December 19, 2017 – Carlisle United 3 Gillingham 1
The second round of the 2017/18 competition then sent Carlisle to Gillingham, where Danny Grainger’s penalty earned a 1-1 draw against their League One hosts. The Brunton Park replay then found Curle’s side in defiant form once more, as Steve Lovell’s Gills were downed by an inspired Hallam Hope, who scored twice, and Shaun Miller, who wrapped things up late on.
November 1, 2025 – Reading 2 Carlisle United 3
The most recent upset – and comfortably among the most dramatic. In last season’s first round, Mark Hughes’ National League Blues went to third-tier Reading and staged a magnificent comeback. Trailing 2-0 into the 90th minute, substitute Regan Linney scored and then scored again to take it into extra-time, then sent the travelling fans jubilant with a hat-trick goal that won the tie: the only time to date Carlisle have bridged two divisions to win an FA Cup game.
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