Hereford at the time were in the middle of a horrific run of form, which culminated in 3 points out of a possible 39. With 3 draws and 10 losses achieved in a 13 game winless run.
An excellent fightback came to nothing with a point lost to a last minute goal. League leaders Carlisle take a 2-0 lead, but Hereford pull one back just before half time through Trevor Matthewson.
The 2nd half saw Hereford battle back with a change of formation, and equalise in the 85th minute through a Dean Smith penalty, but with the last action of the game, defender Nicky Law falls on his backside and Warren Aspinall wins it for the visitors.
Click to view -> Hereford United 2-3 Carlisle United | 14th December 1996 - YouTube
Line Ups Hereford 1 deBont 2 Norton 3 Matthewson 4 Smith 5 Warner 6 Law 7 Cook 8 Hargreaves 9 A Foster 10 Cross 11 Brough Subs Fishlock, Kottila, I Foster
Attendance 1,890 with 267 away