Archived News from December 2006
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STAGSNET`S STATISTICAL PREVIEW
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As the home game against Chester was postponed, the away trip to Darlington will be the first for the Stags after the leaving of manager Peter Shirtliff.
But the Stags have already faced the Quakers twice this season. First, a League Two encounter on September 26, which was settled by a solitary Danny Reet goal on the hour mark at Field Mill. About two months later, the sides clashed in Johnstone's Paint Trophy (formerly LDV Vans Trophy and other names as well). This time, Darlington went through by the only goal of the game. 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. The first score-draw was also the highest one. The first-ever league fixture between the sides, on November 5, 1932, saw the teams share six goals in front of 7346 with Johnson netting a hat-trick for the Stags. 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. . 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 except for last season – 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 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! And last season's away game at Darlington was easily one of the Stags' worst as an under-strength Stags side easily succumbed 4-0 in Quakers country. But much better was to follow in then forthcoming away fixtures of which the previewer saw two on consecutive Saturdays about a month after the crash in the north-east. 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 42, W 28, D 8, L 6, GF 108, GA 54 Away stats: P 41, W 10, D 9, L 22, GF 47, GA 68 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 1-1 2005-04-16 1-2 2004-12-07 League Two 2005-06 2-2 2005-09-10 0-4 2006-01-28 League Two 2006-07 1-0 2006-09-26 (at Field Mill) 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 2006-07 0-1 2006-11-28 Johnstone's Paint Trophy at 96.6 TFM Darlington Arena Svante Bernhard aka Sweden Stag (pictured, above right) |
Latest | December 2006