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Archived News from April 2005

STAGSNET`S STATISTICAL PREVIEW
14th April 2005 0:06


The Stags hope to get revenge for the away defeat in December when they face Darlington at Field Mill on Saturday. And the Quakers are a side that have often faced the Stags in league encounters and did so in all the seasons the Stags played in the old division 3 (N) and most seasons the Stags have played in the basement division as the Quakers since 1958-59 only have been out of the league's lowest tier for five seasons – four of them in the old third with the Stags facing Darlo in two of them – and one in the Conf – 1989-90 – and in 1990-91, the Quakers went straight through the old fourth only to immediately drop back to the basement, where they have remained ever since.

And the Quakers had to wait nearly fifty years for their first-ever victory at Field Mill – and that was a 3-2 on March 6, 1982 in one of – in my opinion - worst seasons following the Stags.

And before that, Darlington had only managed five draws in Stagsland – all score-draws – in 24 outings with the Stags scoring twice or more on all occasions bar two – when a solitary Stags goal clinched it. And the biggest Quakers away victory was a 3-0 very late in the 1993-94 season when Darlington badly needed the points to avoid the league's wooden spoon – and made it at the expense of Northampton, who eventually stayed up due to then Conf Champs Kidderminster incredibly not being eligible to be promoted due to ground regulations – a very strange decision due to the fact that the Harriers enjoyed their best-ever FA Cup run. And the biggest defeat at Darlington was a 1-5 as recently as on February 6, 1999, when Harper netted the consolation goal for the Stags.
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On the other hand, Darlington have been hit for 6-0 on two occasions – on December 12, 1953 (scorers Murray 2 – came from the Quakers – talk about putting some over the old club - , Reeve, Darwin 2, Daley) and on November 10, 1962, scorers Wagstaff 2, Chapman R, Weir, Hollett, Morris pen – the latter being the last of three consecutive Stags home victories to a score of 14-0! The other victims were Chesterfield on October 22 and Barrow to a 5-0 stuffing four days later. And the game with the most goals was a Stags 7-3 victory on November 3, 1956. The Stags' scorers then in front of 7338 at Field Mill were Chapman 3, Murray 2, Anderson and Darwin one apiece.

And it's no wonder, then, that the teams have yet to play a goal-less league game in Stagsland, compared to four at a place the writer travelled through by train on every occasion visiting Mansfield – and other places as well – over the last few years. Fact is also, that the Stags have scored more than a century of Field Mill league goals against Darlington over the years.

And the very last away game at Feethams, Darlington's old ground, was won by a very late Allen Tankard free-kick on October 13, 2001. And away, the Stags have won about every fourth game in Quakers country, the biggest as early as on September 16, 1933, when two goals from Munning, one each from Rayner and goal ace Johnson secured the Stags' first division 3 (N) win that season thanks to a 4-1 hammering. The Stags also won their first-ever league away game at Feethams – and that proved to be league history as the 3-1 on March 18, 1933 with two Johnson goals and one from Prior was enough to secure the Stags' first-ever league away victory at the 38th attempt!

Last season, the Stags won the home tie 3-1 thanks to strikes from Vaughan, Christie and Corden in a game that was sadly marred by poor refereeing by an FL rookie according to the Stagsnet report. Especially Darlington were the victims with eight yellow cards and a harsh red one. But the away fixture on Easter Saturday was lost 1-0 and three important points in the promotion race gone after a poor Stags display. On the other hand, the Quakers victory was essential to keep them out of the drop zone – at one time nearly being the second side to do a Halifax, that means being relegated from the League for the second time.

This season, Darlington have fared much better. Putting their own on and off the field problems of last season behind them, they are now sitting in the play-offs frame, eight points ahead of the Stags due to four more victories. But Darlo's latest league fixture was lost, 1-3 at Cambridge, while the Stags lost 2-5 at Yeovil. But Mansfield's last home game was won, 2-0 against Grimsby on April 2.

Earlier this season, Darlington travelled to Field Mill for an LDV Vans Trophy 1st round encounter, which the Stags eventually won on penalties. And in the league on December 7, 2004, the Stags threw away a 1-0 HT lead to a 2-1 defeat, scorers Barker for Stags, Hignett and Wijnhard for Darlington.

Played for both sides: Matthew Carmichael, Gary Chapman, John Downie, Steve Harper, Ian Juryeff, Fred Laycock, John McClelland, Les McJannet, Lawrie Madden, Terence Melling, John Moore, Kenneth Murray, Francis O'Connor, James O'Neill, Stanley Peach, John Reed, Mark Rhodes, Arthur Sharp.

Billy McEwan, who played for the Stags in 1976-77, was Darlington manager in 1992-93.

Stats file:
Home stats: P 39, W 27, D 6, L 6, GF 104, GA 51
Away stats: P 40, W 10, D 9, L 21, GF 47, GA 64

Season Home Date Away Date

1932-33 3-3 1932-11-05 3-1 1933-03-18 Div 3 (N)
1933-34 4-0 1934-01-27 4-1 1933-09-16 Div 3 (N)
1934-35 2-2 1935-04-20 0-1 1935-05-01 Div 3 (N)
1935-36 4-2 1935-09-14 1-2 1936-01-18 Div 3 (N)
1936-37 3-1 1937-04-24 0-0 1936-12-19 Div 3 (N)
1947-48 4-0 1948-01-31 2-1 1947-09-13 Div 3 (N)
1948-49 2-2 1949-01-29 2-1 1949-04-23 Div 3 (N)
1949-50 2-1 1950-03-25 2-2 1949-11-05 Div 3 (N)
1950-51 2-1 1950-08-21 2-1 1950-08-30 Div 3 (N)
1951-52 3-2 1952-04-26 1-2 1951-08-12 Div 3 (N)
1952-53 3-2 1952-09-29 1-2 1953-01-01 Div 3 (N)
1953-54 6-0 1953-12-12 2-1 1954-04-10 Div 3 (N)
1954-55 3-1 1955-04-18 1-3 1954-08-30 Div 3 (N)
1955-56 3-3 1955-10-08 1-3 1956-02-18 Div 3 (N)
1956-57 7-3 1956-11-03 3-1 1957-03-16 Div 3 (N)
1957-58 4-2 1957-09-21 0-2 1958-02-01 Div 3 (N)
1960-61 2-1 1960-09-24 2-3 1961-02-11 Div 4 (old)
1961-62 3-0 1962-04-28 1-3 1962-03-19 Div 4 (old)
1962-63 6-0 1962-11-10 1-2 1963-04-13 Div 4 (old)
1966-67 2-2 1967-01-21 1-1 1966-09-17 Div 3 (old)
1972-73 5-0 1973-04-24 3-2 1972-09-30 Div 4 (old)
1973-74 1-0 1973-09-29 0-1 1973-12-22 Div 4 (old)
1974-75 4-2 1974-10-05 1-2 1975-04-12 Div 4 (old)
1980-81 1-0 1980-09-06 2-2 1981-02-15 Div 4 (old)
1981-82 2-3 1982-03-06 0-1 1981-10-17 Div 4 (old)
1982-83 0-2 1982-10-30 0-0 1983-03-12 Div 4 (old)
1983-84 1-0 1984-04-14 0-3 1983-12-03 Div 4 (old)
1984-85 2-0 1985-01-01 1-3 1985-04-08 Div 4 (old)
1986-87 1-0 1987-04-28 1-2 1986-08-30 Div 3 (old)
1993-94 0-3 1994-04-30 0-2 1993-11-20 Div 3
1994-95 0-1 1994-08-30 0-0 1995-03-18 Div 3
1995-96 2-2 1995-09-12 1-1 1996-02-17 Div 3
1996-97 2-1 1997-04-26 4-2 1996-10-19 Div 3
1997-98 4-0 1998-02-21 0-0 1997-09-27 Div 3
1998-99 0-1 1998-09-05 1-5 1999-02-06 Div 3
1999-2000 1-2 2000-02-26 0-0 1999-09-18 Div 3
2000-01 3-2 2001-05-01 1-2 2000-12-02 Div 3
2001-02 4-2 2002-02-16 1-0 2001-10-13 Div 3
2003-04 3-1 2003-10-04 0-1 2004-04-10 Div 3
2004-05 (at Darlington) 1-2 2004-12-07 League Two

Cup games:

1978-79 0-1 1978-08-12 League Cup 1st round at Field Mill
1978-79 2-2 1978-02-15 League Cup 1st round at Feethams, Darlington through 3-2 on aggregate
1983-84 1-3 1984-02-21 Associate Members Cup, 1st round at Field Mill
1985-86 0-3 1986-03-27 Associate Members Cup. 1st round at Feethams
1986-87 1-2 1986-11-16 FA Cup 1st round at Feethams
2004-05 0-0 2004-09-28 (aet, 4-3 on penalities) LDV Vans Trophy 1st round at Field Mill

Svante Bernhard aka Sweden Stag (pictured, above right)

Details on goalscorers noted above in league games before the 1970's courtesy of the Centenary book
Vastly updated played for both sides section courtesy of the history CD

 

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