Archived News from September 2007
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STAGSNET`S STATISTICAL PREVIEW
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If the exploits in front of goal so far are something to go by, there should be a few goals for each side when the Stags visit Peterborough and London Road on Sunday. The proof: The Stags' four league games so far have produced sixteen goals at both ends, compared to fourteen in Peterborough's.
And there was definitely goals gurantee in Peterborough's home games last term. The Posh themselves scored 48, more than two pro game, but conceded 36. 84 goals in overall in home games was not surpassed by any league side. But inconsistency cost the Posh a playoff place. And after the 1-0 win at Rochdale on December 9, 2006, Peterborough got an unwanted league record in losing eight consecutive league fixtures until a 1-1 home draw against Swindon on January 30, 2007. Ten days earlier, manager Keith Alexander (an ex-Stag as a player) was axed and later replaced by the son of Manchester United manager Ferguson, Darren Ferguson, who left Wrexham to take up the Peterborough hot-seat. Peterborough's latest home game was lost 2-3 to the Spireites, while the Stags' most recent away fixture ended in Morecambe's first-ever league victory. But the Stags as well as the Posh come afresh from three-pointers, the Stags 4-2 against Stockport after being 4-0 up on 3-2 minutes, Peterborough a 2-0 at Accrington. Last season, Peterborough beat the Stags 2-0 in both league outings. At Field Mill on November 18, 2006, the Posh were the better side. And on Easter Monday, 2007, the Stags were three minutes from gaining a point, but were undone by two Posh strikes inside the last three minutes. Since Peterborough's return to the basement in 2005-06, the Stags haven't managed a league goal against the Posh. About time to change that on Sunday! Due to FA cup giant-killings in the late fifties (just ask Ipswich and Walsall fans in 1959-60), Peterborough were elected to the Football League at the expense of Gateshead before the start of the 1960-61 season. Well there, the Stags were the first team to beat Peterborough in a league game. This happened in their 7th league game that season, which the Stags won a Field Mill game with the only goal of the game on September 10, 1960. And was it a pointer to subsequent exploits in front of goal, not only for the Stags, that a young Ken Wagstaff hit the winner in front of 11,384, the Stags' biggest home gate that season? That campaign eventually saw the Posh score 134 league goals, a record that hasn't been bettered since then, an all-time record probably destined to stand forever. A few seasons later, on a higher level, did the Stags record their biggest home win so far against the Posh. It was a 4-1 on an Easter Saturday, March 28, 1964. Once again, Ken Wagstaff was on the score-sheet. Just like another hot-shot, Roy Chapman, he netted twice. That Easter Holiday saw the Stags clinch maximum poins as they on Good Friday accounted for Bristol City away 3-2 – and on the following Monday, stuffed the Bristol side 4-0 at Field Mill. At the start of that year, the Stags also recorded their first league victory at London Road, a 3-1 on January 4. Hall scored twice – and a person who later was to be player-manager for both sides, Peter Morris, netted once that day. The following season saw the highest-ever-scoring encounter between the two teams, a Stags 5-4 away victory on September 19, 1964, Mansfield scorers Chapman (2, was Roy Chapman as Sammy Chapman was suspended by the Stags after the final league game the previous season), Wagstaff, MacReady and Scanlon in front of 10526. The biggest Stags defeat in a league game against Peterborough was a 1-7 on March 26, 1966 (Stags scorer Mallinson, his ONLY Stags league strike), one of three all-time 1-7 league home defeats. Nearly as high a defeat was sadly achieved in a six-pointer against relegation at Field Mill on March 29, 2003, when a poor Stags display resulted in a 1-5-defeat (in that game current Stag Gareth Jelleyman appeared for Peterborough), and that summarized a bit of the 2002-03 season – as a full-strengh Stags squad might have been finishing above Peterborough that season. In fact, the Posh had the luck the Stags didn't have in some games that season, i.e. winning at Crewe in the 90th minutes only a few weeks before the latest Field Mill clash, eventually finishing 11th. But Peterborough were relegated in the 2004-05 season and in 2005-06 finished a few points below the playoffs after an inconsistent campaign, yet the Posh finished best of the relegated sides that campaign. In the seventies, the Stags recorded two away wins at Peterborough. Not only the 3-0 win, the third of seven consecutive away victories in the 1975-76 on March 13, 1976 when Ray Clarke scored twice and Jim McCaffrey one. But the up to date latest away win was a very important one and a pointer to the end of the 1978-79 season. On April 17, 1979, the Stags won a relegation-battler 2-1 thanks to goals by Terry Austin and Johnny Miller, Posh scorer Smith. The consequences: Stags stayed up, Posh were relegated on the field for the first time. (In the 1967-68 season, Peterborough were demoted due to financial irregularities and the Stags stayed up instead). But after the 2-1 win in 1979, the Stags have only got three points from twelve visits to Peterborough, the latest being a goal-less draw at London Road on October 12, 2002, the first-ever in a league fixture there compared to five at Field Mill. And the teams have met at Peterborough on opening days twice. This happened in 1973-74 and 1981-82, both times in the old div 4. Last time the Stags scored at Peterborough, was a Lee Peacock second-half equalizer in a 1-1 draw on November 22, 1997 In that fixture, two former Peterborough players, Mark Peters and Ben Sedgemore, appeared for the Stags.then. Sedgemore appeared last season in the conference aka Blue Square Premier for two former league clubs, Cambrige United and Rushden & Diamonds. But the then Posh goalie, Mark Tyler, is still around and appeared in all but five of the London Road outfit's league outings last campaign, and did play at Accrington last Saturday as well as Peterborough's 3-2 win at Nottinghsm Forest in the JP Trophy the other night. In that competition, the Stags bowed out after a 1-0 home reverse against Rotherham. In the FA Cup, the sides have only clashed once. This happened in 2000-01, when Peterborough needed a replay to go through to the second round. As featured below, quite a number of players have played for both sides. Some of them were brought to the Posh during the reign of Peter Morris, who failed to gain promotion while at London Road between 1979 and 1982 but did the trick at the Stags helm in 1976-77. One player, Robbie Cooke, scored only once during his Stags league career – but that was the equalizer in a 1-1 home game AGAINST Peterborough on March 19, 1977 in front of 7,728. And Peter Morris signed the all-time Spireite record goal scorer Ernie Moss from – Peterborough – during the same promotion-winning championship 1976-77 campaign. Billy McEwan, Pat Sharkey and Dave Syrett were also Peter Morris signings during his reign as Stags manager. Played for both sides (before and after Peterborough's election to the FL in 1960): Craig Allardyce, Andy Beasley, Adrian Boothroyd, George Bowater, Stuart Brace, Keith Cassells, Derek Chamberlain, Robbie Cooke, Digger Daley, John Fairbrother, Colin Foster, Gerald Graham, Brynley Gunn, Jim Harkin, Gordon Hodgson, Raymond Hogg, Lee Howarth, Gareth Jelleyman, Kenneth Kay, Harry Lee, David Llewellyn, Tony Lormor, Noel Luke, Billy McEwan, Peter Morris, Ernie Moss, Stuart Naylor, Noel Parkinson, Mark Peters, Brendan Phillips, Ian Phillips, Gary Pollard, Keith Ripley, Ben Sedgemore, Pat Sharkey, Arthur Sharp, John Stenson, Terence Swinscoe, Dave Syrett, John Taylor, Ted Vaux, Alan Waddle, Lee Williams. As Peterborough & Fletton United (before 1934): Charlie Bisby, Daniel Black, Len Featherby, Howard Fielding, Reginald Goodacre, George Hogg, Fred Horsman, Walter Hoyland, Fred Laycock, Fred Roebuck. Managed both sides: Peter Morris. Home games: P 23, W 8, D 9, L 6, GF 27, GA 29 Away games: P 23, W 4, D 2, L 17, GF 24, GA 41 Season Home Date Away Date 1960-61 1-0 1960-09-10 1-2 1961-01-21 Div 4 (old) 1963-64 4-1 1964-03-28 3-1 1964-01-04 Div 3 (old) 1964-65 0-0 1965-03-28 5-4 1964-09-19 Div 3 (old) 1965-66 1-7 1966-03-26 2-3 1965-10-02 Div 3 (old) 1966-67 0-0 1966-08-27 1-3 1966-12-31 Div 3 (old) 1967-68 2-3 1967-10-23 0-2 1967-10-02 Div 3 (old) 1972-73 4-2 1972-10-09 0-1 1973-02-03 Div 4 (old) 1973-74 2-1 1974-01-20 1-2 1973-08-25 Div 4 (old) 1975-76 1-1 1975-10-11 3-0 1976-03-13 Div 3 (old) 1976-77 1-1 1977-03-19 1-2 1976-10-09 Div 3 (old) 1978-79 1-1 1978-12-23 2-1 1979-04-17 Div 3 (old) 1980-81 2-1 1980-10-25 0-1 1981-03-28 Div 4 (old) 1981-82 1-2 1982-01-23 0-1 1981-08-29 Div 4 (old) 1982-83 0-0 1982-09-27 2-3 1983-05-07 Div 4 (old) 1983-84 0-0 1984-02-11 0-3 1983-09-24 Div 4 (old) 1984-85 0-0 1985-03-27 0-1 1984-09-08 Div 4 (old) 1985-86 0-1 1986-05-03 2-4 1985-12-14 Div 4 (old) 1997-98 2-0 1998-03-28 1-1 1997-11-22 Div 3 1998-99 1-0 1998-12-01 0-1 1999-03-28 Div 3 1999-2000 3-1 1999-09-03 0-1 2000-02-12 Div 3 2002-03 1-5 2003-03-29 0-0 2002-10-12 Div 2 2005-06 0-0 2005-12-17 0-2 2005-08-20 League Two 2006-07 0-2 2006-11-18 0-2 2007-04-09 League Two FA Cup: 2000-01 1-1 2000-11-18 (1st round at Field Mill) 2000-01 0-4 2000-11-28 (1st round replay at London Road) Just before the outbreak of WW 1, yet another side from Peterborough, called ”Peterborough GN Loco”, appeared in Non-league football against the Stags. Stats courtesy of the centenary book have been traced as follows: 1911-12 1-2 1912-03-06 3-1 1911-09-09 Central Alliance 1912-13 3-0 1913-02-22 0-4 1912-12-21 Central Alliance For the record, here are the Stags scorers in those fixtures: September 9, 1911, away: Wheatley (J) 3. March 6, 1912: Bagnall. February 22, 1913: Barnett, Blacknell 2. Incidentally, another Mansfield side, Mansfield Mechanics, played in the Central Alliance at the same time. Just before Peterborough's election to the League, the Posh played the Stags' reserves in the Midland League a couple of seasons. No details on those seasons are to be found in this preview. Vastly updated stats on players, goalscorers and on former Peterborough sides courtesy of the history CD (especially on Peterborough & Fletton United, disbanded around 1933), the centenary book (i.e. on the games against Peterborough GN Loco) and various editions of Rothmans Football Yearbook Svante Bernhard aka Sweden Stag (pictured, above right) |
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