BORO
HISTORY ON THIS DAY: 01 MAY As we go into May, the season really is in its final knockings. If matters aren’t decided already, it might only take one more throw of the dice to decide the fate of a season. But it’s rare enough in the grand scheme of things for Boro’ to be turning out on May Day itself. Just six times over the years have we done so. And it’s more than 20 years since we last did so; losing 1-0 at Kettering Town as a 1999-00 campaign that started with a bang ended with a whimper. It was also Steve Wignall’s last game in charge (remember him?) as, two days later, he scampered off to Doncaster. That feels like a bum note to kick off our last look back of the current Martin Gittings
campaign. So, let’s lift the spirits and head back to 1986. In a real end-ofseason cliffhanger, Boro’ travelled across to Barton Rovers knowing that three points were a must if we were to hold off Kingsbury Town and secure the Vauxhall Opel League Division Two North title. Goals from Martin Gittings (his 33rd of the season) and Phil Driver did the business – and we were champions for a second time. It’s hard to compare other results to such a big moment on this date in history. Our 3-1 win at Yeovil Town on the last day of the 1998-9 season saw us finish in sixth; 12 points behind champions Cheltenham Town and three adrift of the top five – not that we had any playoffs to chase back then. Who knows what might have happened had Victor Green not chosen to pull the trigger in December ’98; firing Paul Fairclough when we were still riding high in the table. 1982 Ampthill Rovers 0-0 Stevenage Borough, United Counties League Premier Division 1984 Stevenage Borough 1-3 Baldock Town, Woolwich Trophy (Marshall) 1986 Barton Rovers 0-2 Stevenage Borough, Vauxhall Opel League Division Two North (M Gittings, Driver) 1993 Staines Town 2-2 Stevenage Borough, Diadora League Premier Division (Gittings, Alzapiedi) 1999 Yeovil Town 1-3 Stevenage Borough, Football Conference (Alford 2, Strouts) 2000 Kettering Town 1-0 Stevenage Borough, Nationwide Conference
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Stevenage FC v Crawley Town