It is 25 years since Carlisle United were embarking on their glorious 1994/5 campaign, which ended with the Division Three title and the club’s first ever Wembley appearance in the Auto-Windscreens Shield.

It should have been the path to even greater things but the following season was an anti-climax, and shaped up to be a struggle in its very early stages.

Carlisle made minimal summer additions, preoccupied with the building of the new East Stand while, controversially, chairman Michael Knighton let influential defender Derek Mountfield go.

The 1995/6 season began with just two league wins from their first 12 games. There was, at least, fresh hope in the emergence of talented Cumbrian midfielder Paul Murray, who forced his way into Mick Wadsworth’s side and soon attracted big-club interest.

By the time Carlisle hosted Bradford in October, Murray was a fixture, although a back injury ruled him out of the Bantams clash. Wadsworth had also by then reverted to other attacking options after a goalless three-game spell for veteran Clive Allen brought a swift departure.

Rod Thomas and David Currie came back into the side against Bradford while Tony Elliott kept his place in goal having been given an opportunity in place of Tony Caig. The game, in front of a 6,000 crowd, fit the new pattern of frustration as Wadsworth’s side failed to rediscover the previous season’s groove.

Initially, it seemed that they had. Carlisle sped from the blocks and by the break had established a two-goal lead. This resulted from a determined start with the recalled Thomas a regular menace to Lennie Lawrence’s visiting defence.

Bradford full-back Richard Liburd, who would later have a spell with United, was tormented by Thomas before limping off with a shin injury. Warren Aspinall had Carlisle’s first chance and the midfielder, nicknamed ‘Sumo’, was at the heart of their 10th-minute opener. His fine through-ball sent Thomas away, and when Liburd fluffed his attempted clearance, captain David Reeves pounced to rifle home.

It was a fourth league goal of the campaign for the previous season’s top scorer and, while Carlisle took time to capitalise, they remained on the front foot and, come the 31st minute, the second goal arrived. Aspinall again was the provider, bustling through the Bradford defence and feeding Darren Edmondson, who ran clear to score.

It seemed the much-needed win was now safe. Carlisle could have added more after the break despite Thomas limping off in the 44th minute. His replacement, Jeff Thorpe, had a far-post chance but Wayne Jacobs intervened. Aspinall also passed up a good chance and United were left to rue these misses when their Yorkshire opponents found a way back.

After Graham Mitchell had shot wide and Elliott had denied Des Hamilton, Lawrence’s pair of attacking substitutions changed the game with the experienced arrival of Carl Shutt and Ian Ormondroyd.

It was Shutt who halved the deficit on 74 minutes, crashing home a cross from future Carlisle assistant manager Tommy Wright which Elliott had only been able to push away.

With the two substitute frontmen giving Carlisle’s back line fresh problems, United’s attempt to see the game out was thwarted a minute from time. The giant Ormondroyd flicked on a long ball and Paul Showler was first onto it to head past Elliott.

Wadsworth’s players left the pitch to boos as the 2-2 draw left United in the lower reaches of Division Two. The director of coaching could not disguise his dismay. “We should have had the game wrapped up,” he said.

“We outplayed them, but we couldn’t finish them off. When we’re under pressure like that we tend to buckle.”

That proved the case in two subsequent defeats before Currie earned a welcome win against Brighton. Carlisle, though, never built enough momentum to escape trouble and their sense of security was not helped by Murray’s mid-season sale to QPR and Wadsworth’s departure to become assistant manager at Norwich.

Mervyn Day stepped up but United were relegated in fourth bottom – belatedly, after rivals York beat Brighton in a final game put back several days after a pitch invasion had caused the original fixture to be postponed.

All in all it was a rather deflating return to the bottom tier after so much excitement the year before, while United’s Wembley bid this time was also thwarted by Rotherham in the Shield’s northern final.

United: Elliott, Edmondson, Gallimore, Walling, Moore, Hayward, Aspinall, Peacock, Thomas (Thorpe), Currie (McAlindon), Reeves. Not used: Robinson.

Bradford: Ward, Liburd, Jacobs, Mitchell, Robson (Shutt), Ford, Wright, Youds, Tolson (Ormondroyd), Hamilton, Showler. Not used: Murray.

Crowd: 6,274