When Mike Williamson faced Carlisle United as a player

The freshly-appointed Carlisle boss faced the Cumbrians twice in the early stages of his playing career - also at a time of transition at United.

Williamson was a young defender on Wycombe Wanderers' books back in 2005.

He had joined the Chairboys permanently that summer, having previously been on loan from Southampton.

And his first game as a fully-fledged Wycombe player was against Paul Simpson's United on the opening day of the 2005/06 season.

Williamson, 21, was charged with dealing with a United attack led by Derek Holmes and Karl Hawley in the Blues' first game back in the Football League after bouncing back from the Conference.

In front of a 5,270 crowd at Adams Park, Williamson was given some early problems by the sharp Hawley, who outpaced the home defence before shooting over the bar.

In the 17th minute, Wycombe then went behind as Holmes found space to receive a Zigor Aranalde cross as Williamson tracked Hawley's near-post run. The big Scot turned and fired home, Williamson's attempt to block the shot futile.

The defender then almost equalised when he saw a shot from the edge of the box cleared off the line by Carlisle's Peter Murphy.

Williamson tangles with United's Raphael Nade in the game at Adams Park in August 2005 (Image: Max Flego)

Tommy Mooney's spectacular strike then earned the hosts a 1-1 draw - while, late in the game, Williamson was on the pitch at the same time as the man he is now replacing at Brunton Park, with player-boss Simpson bringing himself on for Carlisle at Adams Park for the last four minutes.

United and John Gorman's Wycombe emerged as promotion rivals and faced each other again in November in a highly-anticipated clash at Brunton Park.

Williamson was again in the Chairboys' side and, early on, had to be on hand to clear for the visitors after keeper Iain Turner had spilled a Murphy cross.

The defender was then in the thick of things in the Blues' six-yard box as a free-kick almost led to a Wycombe goal, Williamson hurt in the process.

At the other end, the new United boss was almost caught out as, from a Chris Lumsdon pass, Hawley got the wrong side of him only to see his shot saved.

A closely-fought game unfolded, Carlisle introducing star loan signing Michael Bridges at half-time for only his second Blues appearance, but this time Williamson got the better of United when his defensive partner Roger Johnson fired a late winner, Wycombe claiming a 1-0 victory and Williamson in the thick of the celebrations after the decisive moment.

Here's hoping that, nearly two decades on, he has plenty more to celebrate at Brunton Park...