This time last year, Carlisle United’s midfield maestro Owen Moxon was working as a UPS delivery driver while playing part-time football in Scotland’s fourth tier. But a lot can change in 12 months.

Just last month, he was celebrating promotion at Wembley Stadium with his boyhood Club, wearing the shirt he once donned in the stands of Brunton Park as a youngster.

The driving force behind Carlisle’s promotion from League Two last season, Carlisle-born Moxon was quite literally living his childhood dream throughout the 2022/23 campaign, but he had to go the long way round to get there.

“I always backed myself to do it,” Moxon said, speaking to the EFL ahead of the Sky Bet League Two Play-Off Final.

“But you don’t know if you’re ever going to get that chance, especially given where I was playing my football a year ago. Sometimes you just need one person to give you a chance and that’s what happened to me.”

The 25-year-old grew up supporting Carlisle and even used to be a ball boy at first-team matches during his time in the Academy. But in 2014, he received the devastating news that he wouldn’t be turning professional and was released as a teenager.

“It was absolutely heart-breaking,” he admitted. “I remember crying my eyes out to my mum and dad. All I wanted was to play for this Club.

“The teachers at school always used to say that I needed a back-up plan if football didn’t work out and I was always the cheeky kid that thought, ‘what’s the point in a back-up plan, I’m going to play football’. But I used to think that because if I didn’t, I essentially wasn’t backing myself to achieve what I had always wanted.”

After leaving school, Moxon signed for Scottish side Queen of the South, where he spent three years, before signing for fourth-tier Annan Athletic, who were managed by Carlisle United legend Peter Murphy, who made more than 400 appearances for the Club.

Moxon worked part-time alongside his football commitments during his five seasons with Annan, first on a mechanics apprenticeship scheme at Arnold Clarke, which he admits he “absolutely hated”, and then as a UPS delivery driver as recently as last year.

“Honestly, it’s absolutely mad,” he continued. “I hated working on the mechanics scheme, so I just left and became a delivery driver for a while alongside football. I can’t believe it was only a year ago, but thankfully it’s worked out.”

For many, that would signal the end of the dream, but not for Moxon, who was determined to fight his way back.

“Football is everything to me,” he declared. “Whether I was getting paid to play or not, I always just wanted to play it, so playing part-time in Scotland was everything to me at the time and was an experience I’m grateful for. Working and playing was really hard, but it just shows how much I wanted it and how much I still believed in myself to eventually make it back to full-time.

“Yes, it took some time. I’ve had a different path, but I’m doing it now and that’s all that matters. Hopefully, this is just the start.”

With the help of former manager Murphy and Paul Simpson’s return to Carlisle, the chance came to return to his boyhood Club and Moxon didn’t think twice about a homecoming.

“I’m so grateful for him (Simpson) giving me the chance to get back in at this level,” said Moxon. “As soon as I spoke to him, I knew it was what I wanted. Being a local lad, I’ve seen the change in the city since he came back to manage the Club. Eighteen months ago, Carlisle was struggling and almost gone from the EFL, but he’s changed everything.

“He’s actually a king to all of my mates who are Carlisle fans. Whatever he says, people round here buy into it and that’s how well he’s thought of. That says it all and that made my decision easy; I knew I was going to be playing for someone special.”

Moxon added: “For me personally, he’s been brilliant. He told me from day one he wanted me to come in, influence the team and be a big player. When someone puts that level of belief in you at your local team, yes it comes with pressure, but it made me want to come and give my all for this Club.

“It’s been brilliant to get back into full-time football. I’ve never played full-time in England before and that was always the aim. And to do it in League Two, where there are some big-name players and some massive Clubs, it’s been great to test myself against them.”

But Moxon has done more than just test himself. The jump from Scotland’s fourth tier to Sky Bet League Two was a big one, yet the midfielder – who was named in the EFL’s 2022/23 League Two Team of the Season – thrived, making the transition look seamless in the process.

With 17 assists to his name in all competitions, he topped the charts last season for the most assists across the entire EFL. In fact, only Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne had more assists than the Cumbrian midfielder in the whole of English football.

“He’s not a bad player, is he?” Moxon said, laughing. “What a stat that is!

“A year ago, you wouldn’t ever be putting my name and his in the same sentence. I’m not sure it’s even something I can believe now, it makes me a bit speechless. He’s one of the best players in the world, so to be talked about with him in the same breath… I’ll take it!”

It’s a far cry from working as a delivery driver and it’s no surprise that Moxon quickly became a fan favourite at Brunton Park. He has naturally been given the tag of ‘hometown hero’, with local band ‘The Watterwucks‘ even writing a song for him.

Penalty shootout victory over Stockport County in the League Two Play-Off Final secured a first promotion for Carlisle since much-loved boss Simpson took them to League One 17 years ago. It was also Simpson’s first-ever Wembley win as a manager, and for Moxon – who was also awarded Player of the Match – “the proudest moment of his life”.

Speaking after the full-time whistle of the Play-Off Final, Moxon said: “I’m lost for words, I’m so proud. I keep looking at the crowd thinking, ‘I just can’t believe it’.

“What a difference a year makes, I can’t believe where I am now. I dreamt of this moment so many times, I’m so proud of every single person associated with this Club.

“I wish my nana was here to see this moment, because it means so much to me and I know she’d be so proud of me. I’ve supported Carlisle all my life, this is always what I wanted to do and it’s without a doubt the proudest moment of my life.

“These are the moments you dream of as a kid; it’s not money, it’s not fame, it’s moments like this.”

 


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