Archived News from January 2004
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STAGSNET`S STATISTICAL PREVIEW
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By beating the 2000-01 giant killers and semifinalists, Wycombe in the 2nd round replay at Field Mill 3-2, the winner being a 90th minute Liam Lawrence penalty securing his first-ever hat-trick, the Stags earned the right to play First Division Burnley at home in the 3rd round on January 3, 2004. And this will be the first FA-Cup tie between the clubs for 69 years!
On January 12, 1935, the clubs faced each other for the first and so far only time in the FA Cup – and that was a 3rd round tie at Turf Moor. While the Stags finished in their then best-ever league position, 8th in the old division 3 (N), Burnley finished 12th in the old 2nd division. And on the way to the 3rd round then, the Stags first routed the then fellow div 3 (N) boys Accrington Stanley 6-1 at home in front of 7750 on November 24, 1934 thanks to two goals apiece from Hunt and Johnson, Dellow and Atkinson getting one each – and in the second round fell the 2000-01 quarter-finalists Tranmere Rovers on the wayside to the tune of 4-2 attended by 12553 at Field Mill on December 8, 1934 when two goals from Johnson, one each from Hunt and Dellow saw the Stags through to the 3rd round when Burnley won 4-2 in front of 20790, the Stags goals by Johnson and a Hunt penalty. Last season, the Stags went out in the 2nd round 0-3 at Crewe after beating amateur side Team Bath 4-2 away in the first round. On the other hand, Burnley reached the quarter-finals, going out to fellow First Division Watford 0-2 away. On the way to the quarter-finals, the Clarets had disposed of Grimsby (2-2 away, 4-0 home in the replay), Brentford (3-0 away) and Premier League Fulham 3-0 in a replay after a 1-1 draw in the capital. While the Mighty Stags reached the quarter-finals in 1968-69, Burnley have been Finalists on three occasions. Only the first one, as far back as in 1913-14, was successful as the Clarets lifted the Cup for the first and so far only time by beating Liverpool 1-0. In 1946-47 (0-1 to Charlton) and 1961-62 (1-3 to Tottenham) Burnley ended up as losing finalists. For the record, the longest Stags FA Cup run and Burnley's FA Cup winning one: Stags in 1968-69: 1st round Tow Law 4-1 (home, scorers Ledger (2), Keeley, Sharkey); 2nd round Rotherham 2-2 (away, scorers Keeley, Sharkey), 2nd round replay Rotherham 1-0 (home, scorer: Ledger), 3rd round Sheffield United 2-1 (home, scorer Roberts D (2)), 4th round Southend 2-1 (home, scorers Sharkey, Roberts D), 5th round West Ham 3-0 (home, scorers Keeley, Roberts D, Sharkey), QF Leicester 0-1 (home). The Clarets' FA Cup winning run in 1913-14: 1st round: South Shields 3-1 (home), 2nd round Derby 3-2 (home), 3rd round Bolton 3-0 (home), 4th round Sunderland 0-0 (away), 4th round replay Sunderland 2-1 (home), semi-finals Sheffield U 0-0 (at Old Trafford), semi-finals replay Sheffield United 1-0 (at Goodison Park), finals Liverpool 1-0. The teams also met in the League cup on two occasions in the 1990's with Burnley twice going through. But the so far most dramatic cup game was the 2nd leg of the Anglo-Scottish Cup semi-finals at Turf Moor on November 7, 1978. After losing the first leg at home 1-2 one week earlier, the Stags won the away tie thanks to a Dave Syrett goal. But Burnley eventually went through 8-7 on penalties aet against this Stags side, which is not included in the “Other Competitions section” in the Centenary book: Arnold, Curtis, Foster B, Saxby G (Coffey), Saxby M, Bird, Miller, McClelland, Syrett, Goodwin, Martin. In the league, the clubs have only been in the same league four times. The first one being the Stags' solitary season in the old 2nd division in 1977-78. That season, Burnley were rooted at the foot of that division for half of the season before a late rally with nine wins out of twelve – among them a 2-1 at home to Tottenham the week after the epic 3-3 game between the Stags and the Spurs at Field Mill – gave them a creditable 11th position. The Stags played Burnley at home as early as on September 24, 1977, when 8274 saw Mansfield notch their biggest win of the division 2 campaign by beating Burnley 4-1 with the Stags goals coming from Syrett, Moss, Hodgson and a Sharkey penalty, Brennan netting the Claret consolation goal. But at Burnley, all the Stags league visits have ended in defeats. The first was during the Burnley rally in March 1978, when 9961 saw Fletcher and Kindon strike for Burnley, ensuring them climbing out of the relegation spots for the first time that season. In 1991-92, the teams were promoted together from the last old fourth division. On November 9, 1991, Burnley ended the Stags seven-game away winning streak in front of 11848, who saw a 3-2 for the home side, Burnley scorers Conroy (pen), Davis and Pender, Stags scorers Wilkinson 2. At that stage, both sides were in the auto promo places, where they finally ended up with Burnley as champions and the Stags in 3rd position. The return fixture at Field Mill on March 21, 1992, won by Burnley by a Conroy strike, was watched by 8336, an attendance figure that was unbeaten up to the 2001-02 promotion run-in with the home games against Cheltenham and Carlisle. Last time Burnley faced third division opposition in the FA Cup was in 2001-02 when the then in the league high-flying Clarets crashed out at Cheltenham to the score of 1-2. So league positions don't matter when it comes to the FA Cup. Just ask Darlington, Brentford, Port Vale, Huddersfield and Bournemouth so far this season – all succumbing to non-league clubs!!! There have also been some interesting player connections between the Stags and the Clarets. Here are the best known: Tommy Cummings (in the Burnley 1959-60 league championship and the 1961-62 Cup Final side), appointed player-manager in 1962-63 steering the Stags to their first-ever promotion and nearly getting them to the 2nd division in 1964-65; Neil Whatmore (long-serving attacker for Bolton under Ian Greaves, playing at highest level for the Trotters at the end of 1970's), Steve Taylor (played for Oldham against the Stags in 1977-78, also played for Bolton and Luton). An insteresting managerial connection is Dave Smith. He played for Burnley, Brighton and Bristol City before starting his managerial career at the Clarets as assistant trainer – some ten years later steered the Stags to their first-ever championship in 1974-75. Played for both sides: Albert Cheesebrough, Tommy Cummings, John Fisher, Ken Gillatt, Charlie Govan, Steve Harper, Ian Helliwell, Steve Kilcar, George Mee, Neil Moore, Nathan Peel, Bill Poynton, Frank Rayner, Mark Rhodes, Steve Slawson, Sammy Todd, Steve Taylor, Neil Whatmore, William Wood, Simon Woodhead. Previous games: League games: Home: P 4, W 1, D 2, L 1, GF 5, GA 3 Away: P 4, W 0, D 0, L 4, GF 3, GA 8 Season Home Date Away Date 1977-78 4-1 1977-09-24 0-2 1978-03-14 Div 2 (old) 1985-86 0-0 1986-04-05 1-2 1985-11-05 Div 4 (old) 1991-92 0-1 1992-03-21 2-3 1991-11-09 Div 4 (old) 1992-93 1-1 1993-01-23 0-1 1992-09-19 Div 2 FA Cup: 1934-35 2-4 1935-01-12 (at Turf Moor) Football League Cup 1995-96 0-1 1995-08-15 1-3 1995-08-22 (1st round) 1996-97 0-3 1996-08-20 0-2 1996-09-03 (1st round) Associate Members Cup 1984-85 1-1 1985-04-10 (3rd round at Field Mill, won 5-3 on pens aet) Anglo-Scottish Cup 1978-79 1-2 1978-10-31 1-2 1978-11-07 1-0 (Semi-Finals, lost 7-8 on pens aet) Details from various sources (Rothman's Football Yearbook, Stags Centenary book, e-mail from Paul Taylor on December 17, 2003) Svante Bernhard aka Sweden Stag (pictured, above right) |
Latest | January 2004