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Archived News from April 2004

STAGSNET`S STATISTICAL PREVIEW
26th April 2004 21:34


Before the 1988-89 season, the Stags had not played Huddersfield in a league game and the reasons for that are quite obvious. In 1974-75 when the Mighty Stags clinched the division 4 championship in style, Huddersfield slid down to that division after playing at the highest level only three years earlier! And when Hudds won the division 4 championship with a club record of 101 league goals, not even achieved in their glorious 20's, the Stags were relegated to the basement.

Therefore, the first league game between the teams was played on New Year's Eve 1988 at Field Mill where the Stags won by the only goal of the game (scorer: Owen), the only Stags win in league games so far.

But the clubs met in the FA Cup 1st round in the 1976-77 division 3 Championship season and after a goalless draw at Leeds Road, the Stags won the replay 2-1(Stags scorers Randall and Eccles, Terriers scorer Sidebottom).
And an interesting fact is that the first-ever Cup and league fixture between the clubs was played exactly 27 years ago to the day to the 3-3 league thriller at Field Mill this season!

And 25 years after the first cup meetings, did the teams face each other in the FA Cup again. A glorious display by the Mighty Stags on December 8, 2001, saw them thrash Hudds 4-0, three goals by Chris Greenacre, to earn a lucrative 3rd round tie at Leicester. I remember that weekend very well as after the game, I posted my first posting on the stagsnet under my username!

The clubs have also met twice in the league cup with Huddersfield going through on both occasions, in 1983-84 and in 1998-99 with the Terriers playing two divisions above the Stags at league level in both seasons.

The teams went down together last season after a Huddersfield 2-0 at Field Mill due to two second-half strikes from Smith on October 19, 2002. The same player shot the Terriers in front against the run of play on March 18, 2003, before Corden converted a penalty twelve minutes from time to clinch a 1-1 draw.

Earlier this season, the teams shared six goals at Field Mill with Disley equalizing for the Stags in the 90th minute. How crucial will that goal be for the Stags in the final reckoning????

Since that game, Huddersfield have sold Stead to Blackburn Rovers. And after the turn of the year, the Terriers have been one of the Division 3 form teams now sitting in the last auto promo position. Will the Stags ruin an eventual Terriers promotion party on May 1 in front of a division one-ish crowd?

Other important fixtures in the play-offs zone the coming weekend are Yeovil v Hull, Northampton v Bury, Macclesfield v Oxford, Torquay v Kidderminster and Bristol Rovers v Lincoln.

Played for both sides: George Anderson (1930's), Terry Austin, Kevin Bird, Adrian Boothroyd, Alfred Calverley (immediately after World War II), Brian Cox (kept the Stags goal in the first-ever league fixtures between the teams in 1988-89), George Darwin, Terry Eccles, Jim McCaffrey (both sold to Hudds after the 1976-77 cup games!), Lee Glover, Kevin Gray, Stuart Hicks, Simon Ireland, Kevin Lampkin, David Lyon, Iffy Onoura, Fred Roebuck (20's), John Saunders, Scott Sellars, Phil Stant, Terence Statham.

As listed above, there have been quite a number of players appearing for both sides. Among them is the Leeds KO man in 1994, Simon Ireland, who actually started his league career by the Terriers. Others are Scott Sellars, Kevin Gray and Phil Stant, to name but a few.

Managed both sides: Ian Greaves (Huddersfield 1968-1974, 259 games, Mansfield 1983-1989, 301 games).
Greaves steered Huddersfield to the old division 1 after 14 years' absence in 1969-70 as Champions, repeated that feat for Bolton in 1977-78 and guided the Stags to promotion from division 4 in 1985-86 and to the Freight Rover triumph at Wembley in 1986-87 penalizing a Bristol City side featuring current Stags manager Keith Curle.

Home games: P 6, W 1, D 2, L 3, GF 6, GA 9
Away games: P 5, W 0, D 2, L 3, GF 4, GA 8

Season Home Date Away Date

1988-89 1-0 1988-12-31 0-2 1989-04-08 Div 3 (old)
1989-90 1-2 1989-12-02 0-1 1990-02-07 Div 3 (old)
1990-91 0-0 1991-05-04 2-2 1990-10-27 Div 3 (old)
1992-93 1-2 1993-03-13 1-2 1992-11-07 Div 2
2002-03 0-2 2002-10-19 1-1 2003-03-18 Div 2
2003-04 3-3 2003-11-22 (at Field Mill) Div 3

Cup games:

FA Cup:

1976-77 0-0 1976-11-20 1st round at Leeds Road
1976-77 2-1 1976-11-22 1st round replay at Field Mill
2001-02 4-0 2001-12-08 2nd rond at Field Mill

League Cup:

1983-84 1-2 1983-08-30 1-5 1983-09-13 1st round (Huddersfield win 7-2 on aggregate)
1998-99 1-1 1998-08-18 2-3 1998-08-11 1st round (Huddersfield win 4-3 on aggregate)

Svante Bernhard aka Sweden Stag (pictured, above right)

 

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