Archived News from April 2007
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STAGSNET`S STATISTICAL PREVIEW
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By the time of Peterborough's 2-0 victory at Field Mill on November 18, 2006, the Posh were inside the playoffs positions in seventh position, while the Stags were lower mid-table. But since then, to say the least, Peterborough have been very, very inconsistent. And after their 1-0 win at Rochdale on December 9, 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. But still, just like the Stags, Peterborough lack consistency. This has proved very costly in their last two league fixtures. Goals conceded in the 90th minute at home to Wycombe, and on Easter Saturday in the first visit to Accrington since April 11, 1961, may in the end prove very costly. Three points lost in an outside bid to make the playoffs as Peterborough are just five points behind Wycombe in seventh place.
On the other hand, Peterborough's home game this term have garanteed loads of goals. In twenty games, they have scored 40, more than any other side in League Two, but have conceded 33, also that more than any team in this division - and also more home goals put past them than any side in Championship and Leagur One after 20 home ties. Yet the Stags have lost their last three home games, the latest a poor display against Bristol Rovers on Easter Saturday. But the Stags have finished their four latest away fixtures unbeaten, starting with an injury-time Nathan Arnold equalizer at Milton Keynes, then beating Lincoln, and the two away games since that fixtures have been goal-less draws at Notts County and Wrexham. And due to cup feats in the late fifties, 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 finished a few points below the playoffs after an inconsistent campaign, yet the Posh finished best of the relegated sides last term. 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 very important 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 eleven 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 has this season appeared in the conference for two former league clubs, Cambrige United and Rushden & Diamonds. But the then Posh goalie, Mark Tyler, is still around and has appeared in all but four of the London Road outfit's league outings this current campaign. Last season, the Stags failed to score against the Posh. First a 2-0 defeat after a very poor display early on, then the Stags' first goal-less draw just before Christmas, but was the sixth of all-time in the League. And the Stags' latest home win against the Posh was also their first of the topsy-turvy 1999-2000 season. 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 22, W 4, D 2, L 16, GF 24, GA 39 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 (at Field Mill) 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. 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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