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Swindon away preview

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Swindon away preview

Postby Sweden Stag » Wed Nov 20, 2019 7:59 pm

After playing out a dour goal-less draw at Macclesfield last Saturday, the Stags are on the road again. This time around, it is down to Wiltshire and a ground known to the previewer, as the trip is down to current League leaders Swindon Town and their County Ground.

And by the time of the home preview last season, history was made. The then Stags manager, David Flitcroft, faced two of his former clubs in two consecutive home fixtures. Flitcroft, who managed against Bury on Boxing Day 2018 and three days later, he faced Swindon Town, the club he bossed before taking over the Stags following the departure of Steve Evans. And incidentally enough, the last Stags League Two defeat under Steve Evans was inflicted by David Flitcroft’s Swindon to the only goal of the game on February 10 earlier this year. In that fixture, last season’s Stags loanee Timi Elšnik played for Swindon as well as Matt Preston in what was to be his final Swindon game. While the Bury game was one of last season’s best ones, the Swindon home game ended in a dull goal-less draw. Just two months earlier, the sides played out a goal-less draw at Swindon in a game marred by poor refereeing and a horrendous red card to Will Atkinson, then at Stags.

And out of the Stags players appearing at County Ground in front of the previewer twelve years ago, two are still around: Alex John-Baptiste for Doncaster, and Nathan Arnold for Altrincham, both having played at least one game this term, while one then Swindon player, Andrew Nicholas, was later to play 14 National League games for the Stags during the 2009-10 campaign before leaving for Barrow. Another one then starting for Swindon, later to play for the Stags that same 2009-10 season, was Blair Sturrock. From the then starting Swindon line-up, Michael Timlin has played for Stevenage and Lukas Jutkiewicz for Birmingham this season. Ex-Stag Lee Peacock starred for Swindon in front of the previewer way back in April 2007.

And Swindon were the first team to play the Stags in a league fixture and also the first one to be beaten by them. This happened in the Stags' inaugural league game in the old division 3 (S) on August 29, 1931, when 12232 saw the Stags win 3-2 with Joe Readman netting the Stags' historic first League goal and Harry Broome the other two.

The Stags' line up then, courtesy of the centenary book, was as follows: Wilson, Clifford, England, Wake, Davis, Blackburn, Gilhespy, Readman, Johnson, Broome, Baxter, while the Swindon team included a former Stag named Fred Laycock.

The sides did not meet again until the 1937-38 season when the Stags were transferred back into the Southern section after a couple of seasons up north due to the relegation of Bradford City and Doncaster Rovers.

Again, the Stags won at Field Mill, this time around to the tune of 2-0 on October 23, 1937, when Crawshaw scored one of his 25 league goals that season, Sams netting his first of only two league goals in his short Stags career.

Thence, the Stags had to wait 31 years and the 1968-69 FA Cup season for the next home win against Swindon, then flying high in the old Third Division, a few months later winning the League Cup as well as promotion. But on November 23, 1968, Dudley Roberts and Bob Ledger scored in a 2-0 victory in front of 5477, thus ending a miserable run with one point from five previous league games. Typically enough, the Stags also beat other promotion hopefuls as Watford, Luton and early pace-setters Bournemouth at Field Mill in the League that term which also was the Stags’ best-ever in the FA Cup. The 2-0 victory also ended a dreadful decade against Swindon at home as three consecutive home games were lost until a 2-2 draw on November 4, 1967, ending a run of six consecutive Stags league defeats.

On October 22, 1938, the Stags won at Swindon for the very first time thanks to strikes from Somerfield and Wilson to a 2-1 scoreline. From then on, the Stags had to wait 38 year for their next victory at Swindon (see more below).

In the 1970's, the sides also clashed. In the 1975-76 season, the Stags won both games, the 2-0 on March 27, 1976, scorers Laverick and former Swindon player Ray Clarke, being the fourth of seven straight away wins, and in 1976-77, a 1-0 win at Swindon, scorer Colin Foster on April 30, 1977, all but secured Stags promotion. One Swindon player then, Dave Syrett, went on to be the Stags' then record signing a few months later on the eve of the 1977-78 Second Division season.

And in the 1985-86 campaign, the sides were promoted together from the basement. While Swindon clinched promotion thanks to a 1-1 draw at Field Mill on April 19, 1986, the Stags clinched theirs thanks to a 4-0 home mauling of Hartlepool a few days later.

The sides also met in the 2002-03 season when both sides won their home game to a 2-1 scoreline. More details on these games are featured in the Match Centre. And more on some other games between the sides, including the Stags' inauguaral league game, are featured in the Vintage Stags section.

Currently, Swindon have won their last four League Two fixtures, the latest 3-2 at Salford, while the Stags are unbeaten in five consecutive EFL games on the road, two wins and three draws since a 1-0 defeat at Crawley two months ago.

The clubs have never faced each other in any cup competition over the years.

Played for both sides: Nicky Ajose, Calvin Andrew, Shayne Bradley, Frank Burrows, Colin Calderwood, Dave Caldwell, Michael Carter, Ray Clarke, Dion Donohue (one EFL Cup game for Stags this season), Giles Coke, Ted Dransfield, Timi Elšnik (pronounced ”Elshnik”), Fred Fisher, Jimmy Gauld, Michael Graham, Darius Henderson, Arthur Hetherington, Jake Kean, Harry Keeling, Brian Kilcline, Fred Laycock, Martin Ling (later Swindon manager), Kenneth Mellor, Eddie Munnings, Andrew Nicholas, Iffy Onoura (later Swindon manager), Lee Peacock, Matt Preston, Jamie Sendles-White, Alan Sheehan, Blair Sturrock, Dave Syrett, Adam Willis.

Managed both sides: David Flitcroft, Danny Williams (had two spells at Swindon, left the Stags for his second spell at Swindon in 1974), Andy King (managed Swindon until early on in the 2005-06 season but was in charge of the Stags when Leeds were KO’ed in the league cup in 1994-95).

Some other famous names have managed Swindon. To name but a few: Ossie Ardiles, Dave Mackay and Glenn Hoddle. Also the FL record appearance holder for one club, John Trollope (770 games between 1960 and 1980, facing the Stags on a few occasions), was Swindon manager for a few years and bossed against the Stags when Swindon beat the Stags 4-0 at home on October 23, 1982.

Home stats: P 23, W 7, D 11, L 5, GF 28, GA 27
Away stats: P 23, W 3, D 4, L 16, GF 21, GA 49

1931-32 3-2 1931-08-29 2-5 1932-01-02 Div 3 (S)
1937-38 2-0 1937-10-23 3-3 1938-03-05 Div 3 (S)
1938-39 1-1 1939-02-25 2-1 1938-10-22 Div 3 (S)
1946-47 1-1 1946-10-26 1-6 1947-03-01 Div 3 (S)
1958-59 0-0 1959-04-13 1-2 1959-04-22 Div 3 (old)
1959-60 1-2 1960-03-28 1-2 1960-04-23 Div 3 (old)
1965-66 1-5 1966-04-16 2-6 1965-11-20 Div 3 (old)
1966-67 1-3 1967-04-24 1-3 1967-04-11 Div 3 (old)
1967-68 2-2 1967-11-04 1-1 1968-03-30 Div 3 (old)
1968-69 2-0 1968-11-23 0-1 1969-04-22 Div 3 (old)
1975-76 3-1 1975-12-06 2-0 1976-03-27 Div 3 (old)
1976-77 1-1 1976-11-27 1-0 1977-04-30 Div 3 (old)
1978-79 0-1 1978-11-11 0-1 1978-09-02 Div 3 (old)
1979-80 1-1 1979-11-10 1-2 1980-03-22 Div 3 (old)
1982-83 1-0 1983-03-05 0-4 1982-10-23 Div 4 (old)
1983-84 2-2 1983-11-26 1-1 1984-04-29 Div 4 (old)
1984-85 0-0 1984-09-29 0-1 1985-02-02 Div 4 (old)
1985-86 1-1 1986-04-19 1-2 1985-11-23 Div 4 (old)
1986-87 0-0 1986-11-08 0-3 1987-04-03 Div 3 (old)
2002-03 2-1 2003-03-15 1-2 2002-10-26 Div 2
2006-07 2-0 2006-12-05 0-2 2007-04-21 League Two
2017-18 1-3 2017-10-14 0-1 2018-02-10 League Two
2018-19 0-0 2018-12-29 0-0 2018-10-20 League Two

Expect a good test on Saturday. Player to watch out for: Eoin Doyle. Come on Mansfield!
Stockholm, July 4, 2008, 15.00 GMT. Good news came, K.H. gone. March 1, 2012. Ground purchased.
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