ACCRINGTON STANLEY competed against Boro for three seasons, between 2003 and 2006.  Our first ever visit to the Interlink Express Stadium was back in August 2003, which came just two days after the game when Burton Albion had given us so many injury problems.  Indeed, Boro were only able to put two men on the substitutes' bench that day at Accrington.  The game looked likely to end 0-0, especially when the home side had to play the last ten minutes without the red-carded Paul Cook, but a defensive lapse by Boro immediately allowed Paul Mullin to net the winner.  Boro pounded away at the Stanley goal but could make no impression on a resolute defence. 
 
On 12th April 2004 Stanley made their historic first visit to Scarborough, and for much of the game looked like going away with at least a point.  Accrington had the better of the first half, but their only goal came when Andy Gouck headed in a Rory Prendergast corner.  Boro levelled the scores after 61 minutes when Clint Marcelle's pass found Tony Hackworth on the edge of the penalty area, and the Boro striker hit the ball cleanly past Jamie Speare.  Boro were now on top, and gained further impetus when substitute Keith Gilroy, on his way back from his long-term injury, came on for the last fifteen minutes.  With only seconds remaining, Gilroy played a one-two with Marcelle and found the top corner with a goal worthy of winning any game.
 
2004-05 provided a good example of the difference between Boro's home and away results.  On October Stanley came to the McCain and were beaten 4-0.  Within three minutes Tony Hackworth had scored after a neat move involving Chris Senior, and after nine minutes a foul on Senior gave Neil Redfearn the chance to blast in a free kick from just outside the area.  On fifteen minutes, the Hackworth-Senior combination gave Kevin Nicholson the chance to add number three.  The game was much more even from then on, with both keepers - Leigh Walker and Carl Ikeme - producing tremendous saves.  The remaining goal came on 69 minutes, when Ashley Lyth's run and cross was converted by Senior.  This was the game when Michael Coulson came on as substitute to make his Conference debut.
 
The return game in Lancashire, in early February, was dominated in the first half by Accrington who went ahead on fifteen minutes when a long throw was flicked on by Steve Jagielka for Rory Prendergast to finish.  Boro held on until half time and got much more possession after the interval, but just when an equaliser looked likely Accrington broke away for Prendergast to set up Paul Mullin for the decisive second goal.  Ten minutes from the end, a Neil Redfearn free kick was badly fumbled by Stanley keeper Paul Crichton and substitute Tony Hackworth converted the rebound.  Boro again came close to an equaliser but on the whole Accrington deserved their 2-1 win.
 
In 2005-06 Stanley came to the Yorkshire coast in August and gained a point in a 2-2 draw.  The Boro goalscorers were Mark Quayle and Jake Speight.  The return game was towards the end of the season, with Stanley heading for the championship.  A goalless draw seemed the most likely outcome for the crowd of 3,320 but a late goal brought the winner for the Lancashire side.

ALDERSHOT  / ALDERSHOT  TOWN.    Aldershot Town paid three visits to the McCain Stadium, gaining two points in the process.  At the Recreation Ground, Boro won two of the three games.
 
Although Aldershot Town have only been in existence since 1992, their predecessors were a long-established club who had been members of the Football League from 1932 onwards. Indeed, in 1987 when Boro gained promotion to the League by winning the Conference, Aldershot were simultaneously going up a division by winning the Division Four play-offs.  They were relegated two seasons later, thus encountering Boro for the first time in 1989-90.
 
Boro competed against Aldershot on five occasions.  We first met on Saturday 6th January 1990. Although Boro were below Aldershot in the league table, they were fresh from a New Year's Day win against Lincoln City whereas the Shots had lost 5-1 at Maidstone United. Boro won 1-0 with Martin Russell on target.  Towards the end of that season we visited the Recreation Ground for the first time and drew 1-1 thanks to a Paul Dobson goal (programme shown). 
 
In 1990-91 we again gained a point in the away fixture, this time Andy Mockler and George Oghani were on target in a 2-2 draw.  Later in the season a Mockler penalty and a Darren Foreman strike gave Boro a 2-0 home win.  Aldershot finished that season in 23rd place in the League table with only Wrexham below them.
 
The following fateful season saw Aldershot travel up to the McCain in early September.  Boro had failed to gain a win in their first five matches of the season, and boss Ray McHale said in his programme notes "Today is our Cup Final, we need a win."  Boro lost 2-0.
 
Aldershot were in great financial trouble, however, and they were forced to withdraw from the Football League in the middle of March 1992.  All their results up to this time were deleted from the record books - thus sparing Boro's embarrassment of having lost that last home game! 
 
By 2003 the reformed Aldershot Town had worked its way up though the non-league pyramid and into the Conference. Boro therefore met the Aldershot Town for the first time in November of that year, when the match was settled 1-0 in Boro's favour by a Matt Redmile strike.  The away game in March 2004 was won - very much against the run of play - by second-half goals from Keke Ketchanke and substitute Chris Senior after Roscoe D'Sane's penalty had put the home team in front.
 
In 2004-05 we entertained Aldershot on 9th October, with the visitors going 2-0 ahead in the first half through Darren Bernard and Adam Miller, but again Chris Senior came off the bench to change the game, this time scoring twice to bring the game to its final score of 2-2.  The final Saturday of last season saw our teams in opposition at the Recreation Ground, with the home team needing a win to be sure of a place in the play-offs.  In front of a crowd of 4,437 Tim Sills scored both goals which gave the Shots a 2-0 victory.
 
In 2005-06 the game at the McCain Stadium was drawn 2-2, the Boro scorers being Mark Quayle and substitute Michael Coulson.  It was Coulson who netted the winner in the return fixture as Boro won 1-0.

ALFRETON TOWN and Boro met each other for five successive seasons in the Midland League in the 1960s.  The first-ever game between the clubs was on 28th March 1964 at the Athletic Ground and ended in a convincing win 3-0 for Boro with goals from Cliff Jones, Johnny Powell and Alan Franks.

Boro gained a draw on their first two visits to Alfreton, but then lost on three successive visits by scores of 0-3, 2-3 and 2-4.   Boro's last home game against Alfreton in the Midland League ended 1-0 to Boro with Geoff Carr on the scoresheet.  At the end of the 1967-68 season, Boro qualified as founder-members of the new Northern Premier League, but Alfreton narrowly missed out on qualification.

The teams finally met again in 2006-07 in Conference North,  Ashley Burbeary scored the only goal of the game for Alfreton as they took three points at the McCain.   In the return game at the Impact Arena Carl Cook's goal seemed to have wrapped the game up for Boro, but Alfreton equalised in the 89th minute through substitute Matt Glass.

ALTRINCHAM made 23 league visit to the Yorkshire coast.  Boro won 11, Altrincham won 6, and 6 games were drawn.  This contrasts remarkably with Boro's visits to Moss Lane, where we were spectacularly unsuccessful and in fact had lost  ten consecutive visits until the points were shared 1-1 in our final visit on 20th September 2005 thanks to a Michael Coulson goal!
 
The first ever meeting of our clubs ended in a spectacular defeat for Boro, in an FA Cup first round tie in November 1965.  Altrincham were playing in the Cheshire League against a wide variety of teams such as Wigan Athletic, Macclesfield Town, Rhyl Athletic, Stafford Rangers, Frickley Colliery, and even New Brighton, the ex-Football League club who later went out of existence.  Meanwhile Boro were in the Midland League competing against teams such as Gainsborough Trinity, Worksop Town, Grantham and Alfreton Town.  A specially-chartered train took hundreds of Boro fans to the Cup tie at Moss Lane with high hopes, but Boro spent much of the game at 1-0 down before collapsing astonishingly in the final minutes to be crushed 6-0, with Altrincham's prolific goalscorer Jackie Swindells hitting the net five times.  Boro's player-manager, ex Newcastle star Albert Franks, was sacked shortly afterwards!  .
 
With the formation of the Northern Premier League in 1968 bringing together the top clubs from various leagues across the North and Midlands, Boro and Alty began to meet on a regular basis.  At first we found the going very tough, losing 0-1 and 0-2 in the initial season as Alty finished 9th and Boro down in 17th place, but the following season we beat them for the first time and indeed completed the double by winning 2-1 at home and 2-0 away.  Alan Wilcockson scored both Boro goals here at the Athletic Ground, with Graham Potter and Jeff Barmby on target at Moss Lane.  This was the season when Boro would have the championship if they had not lost at home to Macclesfield on the final day of the season!
 
Our teams met in an FA Trophy semi-final of 1976-77 which turned into an epic.  Boro won the home leg 2-0, with a crowd of 4,183 seeing goals from Billy Ayre and Harry A Dunn, but Altrincham won the second leg by the same score in front of 2,797 fans, with no further score after extra time.  Nowadays this would mean a penalty shoot-out, but in 1977 it went to a replay on neutral territory, at Doncaster, but the game remained 0-0 despite a further period of extra time.  So a further tie was need, at Rotherham, where a crowd of 3,761 saw Boro edge into the Final thanks to goals from Billy Ayre and Johnny Woodall.  Boro went on to beat Dagenham in the FA Trophy Final.
 
Boro and Altrincham performed consistently well in the Northern Premier League and both therefore qualified for the new Alliance Premier League in 1979 (later renamed the Conference).  In the first season, as Alty made their way to the championship, they beat Boro 2-0 at Moss Lane and drew 1-1 here with Bob Gauden getting the Boro goal in front of 2,434 spectators.
 
Games between our clubs were generally very tight.  Boro's best result against Altrincham remains a 3-1 win in 1983-84 (John Hanson, Trenton Wiggan and Charlie Bell on target), whereas Alty 's best is a 4-0 win in 1971-72.  In Boro's promotion season of 1986-87, Boro lost 1-0 at Moss Lane and drew 2-2 here (Mike Brolly and Ian Bennyworth) as Altrincham finished in fifth position.
 
When Boro rejoined the Conference in 1999, we again lost at Moss Lane 2-1 but won the return game 1-0 thanks to substitute Stuart Morris.  Boro finished 4th that season, whereas Altrincham were 21st and relegated along with Welling United and Sutton United.

ARNOLD (TOWN) met Boro on eleven occasions, with the outcomes of seven Boro wins, two draws and two defeats.  Most meetings took place during five consecutive seasons in the Midland League, between 1963 and 1968.
 
Boro rejoined the Midland League in 1963 after a three-year spell in North-Eastern based competitions, thus returning to the League in which they had competed ever since 1927.  Boro's first meeting with Arnold - or Arnold St. Mary's as they were still sometimes known - was at the Athletic Ground on 8th April 1964.  Arnold, playing in their normal maroon and gold, were no match for a Boro team of McCusker, Laffey, Barnes, Wood, Mordue, Joe Rose, Barry Dunn, Brown, Boyes, Jones and Franks.  Player-boss Eddie Brown scored two, and there were goals for Derek Boyes, Alan Franks and Barry Dunn as Boro cruised to a 5-1 win.  Only eight days later the teams met again at Gedling Road, and this time the points were shared in a 2-2 draw as Boro went on to finish the season as runners-up to Grantham.
 
In 1964-65 Boro suffered their first defeat to Arnold when they returned from Nottinghamshire on the wrong end of a 4-3 scoreline.  Boucher and Jepson got two apiece for the hosts, with Eddie Brown again getting two and Cliff Jones the other Boro goal.  Admission on that day was one shilling and sixpence (about 7p), and the programme cost 3d (about 1p). 
 
Towards the end of that season Boro had another easy home win, this time Alan Franks got a hat-trick in a 5-0 win over Arnold.  In 1965-66 Arnold were league leaders when they visited us with ten games of the season played, but Franksie hit another two in a 3-1 home win which also saw the home debut of centre-forward Bob Entwhistle.  The trip to Gedling Road again saw a single goal defeat, however, despite strikes from Entwhistle and Franks.  The final league table showed Arnold in seventh place, five points ahead of Boro in 11th place.
 
Our meetings in 1966-67 were memorable for Boro striker Sandy Glossop.  He netted both goals in an early season 2-2 draw at Arnold, then hit a hat-trick as Boro won the home match 3-1.  Despite a league placing of 6th, Boro still finished three points behind Arnold in 4th place.
 
In 1967-68 Boro had a tremendous start to the season with ten wins in the first twelve games, including 3-2 at Arnold - which is Boro's only ever win at Gedling Street.  However this form was not maintained, and Boro ended the season 7th but still well enough placed to qualify for the new Northern Premier League.  Arnold came to the Athletic Ground for the final game of the season in third place and with realistic hopes of winning the league.  However, Boro's 4-2 win condemned the visitors to finish in third place.  Alan Franks got another two goals in that game, Harry Dunn got one, and the fourth was either Boro's Geoff Carr or an own goal by Oldham.  Langford scored a penalty for Arnold, and their other goal was scored by ex-Boro winger Barry Dunn, who had scored for Boro against Arnold in our very first meeting!  Other players who played for Boro in the first and last league meetings with Arnold were Owen Laffey, Terry Wood and of course Alan Franks.
 
After a gap of nearly 25 tears, Boro were drawn at Arnold in the FA Cup 4th Qualifying Round of 2002-03.  Keith Scott scored both Boro goals in a fairly comfortable 2-0 win.
 

ARSENAL played Boro in the 4th Round of the Football League Cup (Coca Cola Cup) in 1992-93.  The match had been postponed once because of a frozen pitch, and the ground was still in a dreadful condition when the game finally went ahead on 6th January 1993 and a thick fog spoilt the view for much of the game.  Arsenal's team was full of international players who were household names, yet Boro's little-known players put up a great fight before going out 1-0 through a superb goal from Nigel Winterburn.  The crowd of 6,261 were convinced Boro should have had a penalty, though….

The Arsenal line-up was Seaman, Dixon, Winterburn, Hillier, Bould, Adams, O'Leary, Wright, Smith, Merson (Campbell), Limpar.
 

BANGOR CITY were regular opponents between 1968 and 1974.  The formation of the Northern Premier League brought us together and Boro's fourth home game at this level was against the Welsh side.  Boro triumphed 2-0 with Keith Adamson and Albert Broadbent on target.  Boro completed the double later in the season with a 3-2 win with some unfamiliar names on the scoresheet - Brian Turton, Mike Gibson and Davie Dunmore, who between them made only 40 Boro starts.  Bangor actually finished 6th in the NPL in this season, with Boro down in 17th place.  Boro usually finished above the Welsh team in subsequent years, but Bangor finished one rung above Boro in 1977 and 1978.  In 1978-79 both games between our team finished equal, and both teams qualified for the new Alliance Premier League.  In the meantime our clubs had met in the FA Trophy in 1977-78, a tie which needed a second replay at Marston Road, Stafford, before Bangor came out on top.
 
In the Alliance Premier League Bangor drew first blood with a 1-0 win and a 0-0 draw at the Athletic Ground, but Boro had a great result the following year - a 3-0 away win with Bob Gauden scoring twice - as City finished bottom of the table and were relegated.  The Welsh team bounced straight back into the APL, but Boro repeated their 3-0 away triumph in 1982-83 thanks to goals from Bryn Jones, Dick Dawson and John Hanson. 
 
In 1983-84 Boro had to travel to North Wales for an FA Cup match and were defeated 2-1, but in league games Boro gained one point away and full points at home - John Hanson, Mitch Cook and an own goal earning another 3-0 scoreline - as Bangor were relegated once again and the clubs were never to renew acquaintances.

BARNET and Boro competed against each other for many years, but our two teams had never met until the formation of the Alliance Premier League (later Nationwide Conference) in 1979, when Boro were one of seven teams elected from the Northern Premier League and Barnet were one of those chosen from the Southern League.  The first meeting of the teams was at the Athletic Ground on 26th January 1980.
 
Boro's line-up that day was Gordon Livesey, Rob Smith, Ivan Belfiore, Harry Dunn, Richard Dixey, Shaun Marshall, Martin Harris, Tony Boylan, Bob Gauden, Neil Sellers and Harry A Dunn, with Gerry Donoghue on the bench.  Barnet fielded Kevin Blackwell, Chris Hulett, Graham Pearce, Kevin Millett, Steve Oliver, Steve Brinkman, Steve Foody, Steve Robinson, Elwyn Roberts, Steve Turner and Gary French, with Brian Siani as substitute.
 
The goal-less scoreline between the clubs was to be repeated in the return match at Underhill towards the end of that season.  Boro finished the campaign in eleventh place, and Barnet ended 17th in the twenty-strong league. 
 
Our keenest rivalry was of course in 1986-87, when Barnet finished runners-up to Boro as we became Conference champions to gain promotion to the Football League.  Again, both games between our clubs were drawn, 0-0 here at the Athletic Ground and 2-2 at Barnet thanks to goals from Phil Walker and Stewart Mell.
 
In our fourteen Football League meetings between 1991 and 1999, Barnet won seven to Boro's two, with five draws.  The programme shown here is from 1st October 1996, the only occasion on which Boro won at Underhill in the Football League.  Barnet were managed by Terry Bullivant and were tenth in the Division Three table, one place below Mick Wadsworth's Boro team.  Jamie Mitchell scored twice, and Andy Ritchie hit a penalty as Boro came out 3-1 on top.
 
In 2003-04 both teams were back in the Conference, and  the games between our clubs ended in draws, 2-2 here (Matt Redmile and Jimmy Kelly for Boro, Ismail Yakabu and Ian Hendon with a penalty for Barnet) and 0-0 in north London in April.  In Barnet's Conference-winning 2004-05 season, Tyrone Thompson netted for Boro in a 1-1 draw at the McCain, and the final meeting of the clubs was on 28th December 2004 which Barnet edged by the only goal of the game.
 
Boro and Barnet played each other twenty-four times in the Conference, Boro had nine wins to Barnet's four, with eleven games drawn. 
 
Our clubs also met in the Bob Lord Trophy in 1983-84 with Boro winning 2-1 on aggregate, whilst in the FA Trophy in 2001-02 we beat the Bees on penalties following a 0-0 draw at Underhill and a 2-2 tie here.

BARNSLEY played their only competitive matches against Boro in 1998-99, although their Reserve side had been Boro's Midland League opponents between the years of 1928 and 1947.  The First Round of the Football League Cup brought Barnsley to the McCain Stadium in August 1998, where a crowd of 3,064 saw the visitors win the Forst Leg 1-0.  In the Second Leg at Oakwell, Boro were defeated 3-0.

BARROW met Boro on 31 occasions, with the Seadogs way ahead on 17 wins to Barrow's 4 (with 10 games drawn).  Our clubs first met in the Northern Premier Leaqgue in 1972/73, and on 9th September 1972 a crowd of 1,566 at the Athletic Ground saw a Mike Alexander hat-trick and goals from Malcolm Leask and Harry Dunn give Boro a resounding 5-0 win.
 
Three seasons later Boro repeated this scoreline thanks to a hat trick from Johnny Woodall and strikes from Ian Greener and Derek Abbey.
 
Boro remained unbeaten at Seamer Road against Barrow in fourteen league encounters (eight wins, six draws) and in two cup encounters.  The stats for encounters on the Cumbrian coast are different, of course, with the home side claiming three wins and two draws, but Boro nevertheless gained full points no fewer than eight times in Northern Premier League or Conference action.
 
Barrow knocked Boro out of the Alliance Premier League Cup in 1980-81 with a 2-0 aggregate victory, but Boro won an FA Trophy 1st Round match at the Athletic Ground with gaols from Mark Ferguson and Mally Thompson ensuring a 2-1 success.
 

After a gap of twenty years, our teams met at the McCain Stadium in Conference North on 14th November 2006 in a 1-1 draw with Chris Thompson netting from the penalty spot.  The return game also ended 1-1, with a memorable goal from young Ged Dalton earning the point.

BATH CITY met Boro every season from the formation of the Conference in 1979 to Boro's promotion to the Football League in 1987.  The first meeting was a 6-1 Boro win at the Athletic Ground, but Bath won the return fixture 1-0 in May 1980.  Boro did the double over City on 1980-81, a 1-0 win each time.  Bath's first win at Seamer Road came in November 1982 with a 1-0 scoreline, but Boro turned the tables by winning 3-2 away later in the season.  In 1986-87, the teams drew 1-1 in Scarborough (Phil Walker on the scoresheet) but Boro won 3-0 at Bath thanks to Stuart Hamill, Stewart Mell and Neil Thompson.

BEDFORD TOWN were Boro's opponents in the semi-final of the FA Trophy in 1974-75.  A crowd of 5,319 at the Athletic Ground saw Boro triumph 3-1 over their Southern League visitors with Johnny Woodall, Ken Houghton (penalty) and Jeff Barmby hitting the net.  What could have been a tense second leg was settled when Boro went ahead early on and eventually won 3-1 again.  This time it was Barmby two, Woodall one, in front of 4,101 spectators.

BISHOP AUCKLAND are one of the most famous Northern League clubs, and Boro encountred them as fellow members of that league on various occasions between 1900 and 1926.  Much later, we competed against each other in the midweek Vaux Floodlit League between 1971 and 1975. 

Our clubs met in the FA Cup as early as 1910 when Boro returned from Durham on the wrong end of a 2-0 scoreline.  The next FA Cup meeting was in 1948 when Boro seemed to have eased through 3-0 at the Athletic Ground but were ordered by the FA to replay the game after a problem with the eligibility of two players.  However Boro repeated the successful scoreline in the away tie.  On to 1959, when Bobby Moore and Ernie Whittle scored the goals in a 2-1 away win, and a final FA Cup meeting in 1985 when the goals in a 4-1 home win came from Marshall Burke (pen), Graham Hartley,  Richard Dawson and Trenton Wiggan.

There were two meetings in the FA Trophy, a 4-2 home win in 1980-81 and a 2-1 5th Round defeat in 1999-2000.

BLACKPOOL entertained Boro in the Northern semi-final of the Sherpa Van Trophy in 1988-89, and the game at Bloomfield Road went into extra time before the Tangerines scrambled the only goal.  The clubs met four times in the Football League, between 1990 and 1992.  Boro gained a point from a 1-1 away draw in the second of these seasons when Adie Meyer netted - and that was the only point Boro took!

BLYTH SPARTANS met Boro a dozen times in league action between 1958 and 1962, in the Midland League, the Northern Counties League and the North Eastern League. The last of these occasions was when Blyth visited the Athletic Ground on 9th February 1962, when Boro triumphed 2-1 thanks to goals from Johnny Powell and Alan Franks.
After that, the sides were drawn against each other five times in the FA Cup - four out of the five being at the Athletic Ground. The results were: 1964-65 Boro 4 Blyth 3 (Johnny Edgar 2, Cliff Jones 2), 1972-73 Boro 2 Blyth 1 (Colin Appleton, Gerry Donoghue), 1974-75 Blyth 3 Boro 1 (Jeff Barmby), 1981-82 Boro 2 Blyth 3 (Dave Bowman and Colin Williams) and1985-86 Boro 3 Blyth 1 (Marshall Burke penalty, Dick Dawson, Trenton Wiggan).
In Conference North in 2006-07 Boro and Blyth met over the Christmas holiday period.  Blyth won 1-0 at the McCain and 2-0 at Croft Park.

BOLTON WANDERERS played Boro in the Fourth Division in 1987-88.  Boro's second home game as a Football League club brought Wanderers to the Athletic Ground and they were sent packing with an astonishing 4-0 scoreline.  Stewart Mell, Stewart Hammill and Steve Richards netted for Boro, along with an absolute belter of an own goal from the Trotters' centre-half Dave Sutton.  Bolton restored their pride on New Year's Day 1988 with a 3-1 win, Mitch Cook scoring from the penalty mark.

BOSTON UNITED played Boro ninty-nine times.  The first meeting of teams from our two towns occurred when Boston Town joined the Midland League in 1927.  The initial clash resulted on a 1-0 win for Boro on 5th October of that year. Boro continued to meet Boston Town for seven seasons, until Town merged with Boston Swifts and became Boston United in 1934.  The first Midland League visit of Boston United to the Athletic Ground ended 2-2, with Billy Clayson netting both Boro goals, and the return match at York Street was won 4-0 by the Pilgrims.  Results between our two clubs were fairly even whilst both teams remained members of the Midland League up until 1957.  Boro's best results were a 6-0 home win in May 1947 and an astonishing 7-3 away victory in 1949-50, with Ken White scoring four times.  However Boro were thrashed 7-0 at Boston in 1954 and also crumbled to the same scoreline the following season.  Geoff Bowman scored his first ever goal for Boro in the 2-2 draw at York Street in 1957.
 
A reorganisation of various leagues in 1957 meant that the clubs did not compete against each other again until the single season of 1963-64, when Boro won both Midland League meetings 3-2, Alan Franks netting in both games.
 

The formation of the Northern Premier League in 1968 brought our teams together once more, and Boston won the first meeting 4-0 here at the Athletic Ground.   In 1970-71 Boro's 2-1 home win through goals from Jeff Barmby and Kenny Ellis was watched by 4,195 spectators.  The sides also met in the FA Challenge Trophy in 1975 (programme on left), when a Dick Hewitt goal forced a 1-1 draw at York Street and Boro won the replay 1-0 thanks to Barmby again.  Boston's line-up in that first Trophy game was N. Simpson, Lakin, O. Simpson, Wright, Bate, Grummitt, Tewley, Taylor, Fidler, Kabia and Wilkinson - a few familiar names in that forward line!  Boro fielded Williams, Fountain, Pettit, Dunn, Marshall, Todd, Houghton, Hewitt, Davidson, Barmby and Aveyard.  Boro's best result against the Pilgrims in the NPL was a 4-1 win in 1975-76, in which that man Barmby notched a hat-trick.  In 1977-78 Boston hosted Boro in the NPL Challenge Shield (champions versus League Cup winners) and won the penalty shoot-out after the game finished 1-1. 
 
After both clubs were selected for the new Alliance Premier League in 1979, Boston again won the first clash by winning here 4-2, but the following season Boro did the double over the Pilgrims including a splendid 3-0 away win through goals from Ian Smith (2) and Harry A Dunn.  In our promotion season of 1986-87 we came away from deepest Lincolnshire with a 3-1 victory thanks to strikes from Stewart Mell, Tommy Graham and Phil Walker.
 
After Boro's twelve-year absence in the Football League, it took a further year before Boston's promotion renewed our series of matches.  Both games of the 2000-01 season ended 2-2, as did our visit to York Street early in Boston's controversial Conference-winning 2001-02 season.  This was however Boro's "great escape" season under Russell Slade, and Boro sealed their survival with a 2-0 win over Boston on 16th April 2002 thanks to goals from Darryn Stamp and an absolute belter from David Pounder. 

BRADFORD (PARK AVENUE) had a Reserve team in the Midland League which competed against Boro from 1929 to 1958.  At first team level, we first met in the FA Cup First Round in 1959-60.  Bradford were having a decent season in Football League Division Four and were too strong for the Boro part-timers, easing to a 6-1 win with Ernie Whittle netting the Boro goal.  The crowd at Park Avenue was 8,793.  Bradford lost their Football League place in 1970 and dropped into the Northern Premier League where they met Boro for the next four seasons.  The first meeting at this level was in March 1971 at the Athletic Ground, when Boro centre-half George Siddle netted twice as Boro eased to a 4-0 win.  Kenny Ellis and Jeff Barmby were the other scorers.  Later the same month the sides met at Park Avenue, with Tony Lee netting in a 1-0 Boro win.  In eight meetings, Bradford defeated Boro on only one occasion.  The final NPL game was in October 1973 at Park Avenue, when Boro eased to a 3-0 win with goals from Dick Hewitt, Tony Smith (pen) and Tony Lee.

BRADFORD CITY never played Boro in a league competition, although their Reserve side competed against Boro in the Yorkshire Combination from 1910 to 1912 and in the Midland League from 1930 to 1958.However we met five times in Cup competitions.  The first occasion was an FA Cup 1st Round match in 1957-58 when a crowd of 13,055 at Valley Parade witnessed a 6-0 home win.  The FA Cup paired our teams again three seasons later and this time Boro gained a 0-0 draw at Valley Parade to bring City back to the Athletic Ground for a Wednesday afternoon replay.  The game was tied 1-1 at full time, with Alan Franks having scored for Boro, but the West Riding team edged through 3-1 after extra time.  Another four years on, another FA Cup 1st Round match, but this time at Seamer Road and this time Boro went through 1-0 thanks to a goal from Johnny Edgar.
In 1992-93 we met in the Coca Cola Cup 1st Round and this time gained a convincing win.  The first leg at the McCain ended 3-0 to Boro, and a week later at Valley Parade Boro won 5-3, including a magnificent goal from Tommy Mooney which was applauded by home and away fans!  Later that same season our clubs met in the Autoglass Trophy, City winning 4-3 at the McCain.

BRIDLINGTON TOWN were fellow members of the Yorkshire League in 1926-27, each team winning its home fixture.  Before that, the clubs had met in the FA Amateur Cup in 1920-21 at Queensgate, with both Johnson brothers netting in a 3-1 Boro win.  Our clubs met six times in the FA Cup, most recently in 1970-71 with a 1-0 home win for Boro.

BRIDLINGTON TRINITY opposed Boro on four occasions in the FA Cup.  In 1950-51 Boro triumphed 7-1 at the Athletic Ground, but Trinity travelled up the coast in 1966-67 and gained a 2-1 win.  In 1968-69 the clubs needed a replay with extra time and then a second replay with extra time before Boro went through, and the final encounter was in 1970-71, the teams drawing 2-2 at the Athletic Ground but Boro easing through the replay at Queensgate 5-0 thanks to a hat-trick from Alan Franks and two goals from Jeff Barmby.

BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION met Boro on nine occasions. The FA Cup 2nd Round draw paired our clubs in 1935-36, and a crowd of 7,344 at the Athletic Ground saw a tense game which ended1-1, Albert Smithson netting Boro's goal from the penalty spot.  The midweek trek to Brighton for the replay ended in a 3-0 defeat for Boro.  1977-78 saw Boro embark on another good run in the FA Cup which ended in a 3-0 defeat at the Goldstone Ground watched by a crowd of 23,748.
Our clubs renewed acquaintances in 1996 when the Seagulls fell to the lowest level of the Football League.   An early-season away game ended in a 3-2 defeat for Boro despite goals from Simon Bochenski and Andy Ritchie, and the home tie in December ended 1-1 with Steve Brodie on the scoresheet.  Boro's first ever win over Brighton came on 23rd August 1997 with Gary Bennett and Liam Robinson on target in a 2-1 win.  The away game was a 1-1 draw with Jamie Mitchell getting the vital goal.
Boro's final season in the Football League saw Brighton do the double over the Seadogs, by scores of 2-1 and 1-0.

BURNLEY entertained Boro in the FA Cup 1st Round on 22nd November 1980 in front of a crowd of 7,789, with Boro playing well and desperately unlucky to g o out of the competition 1-0.
On Boro's promotion to the Football League, we met at the Athletic Ground on 3rd October 1987 and a Stewart Hamill goal earned a 1-0 Boro win.  The result was repeated at Turf Moor, with Boro's Neil Thompson notching the only goal of the game.  This amazing sequence continued the following season, with Gary Brook at home and Tommy Graham away earning a 1-0 win in both matches.  1989-90 brought lots of goals, Burnley winning 3-0 at Turf Moor and Boro gaining a 4-2 home win through goals from Adie Meyer, John MacDonald, Paul Dobson and George Oghani. Burnley were Division Four champions in 1991-92, and at the end of the season a crowd of 12,312 turned up at Turf Moor to see a 1-1 draw with Lee Hirst getting the Boro goal.  That was the final league game between our teams, but there was one more FA Cup match on 14th November 1992 which, just like the first meeting in 1980, ended with a 1-0 Burnley win at Turf Moor.

BURSCOUGH met Boro on only one occasion, an FA Trophy match at Victoria Park on 25th November 2006 which Boro won 2-1 thanks to goals from Jamie Vermiglio and Lee Whittington.

BURTON ALBION.  Although we had previously played against Burton Town in the Midland League between 1935 and 1939 (honours even with four wins and four defeats), the first time Boro played Burton Albion (founded in 1950) was in a pre-season friendly on 31st July 1971.  The Boro line-up was Smethurst, Williams, Dale, H Dunn, Appleton, McConnell, Potter, Barmby, Franks, Ellison and Lee.  Burton Albion fielded Allsop, Goodwin, Norman, Smith, Butler, Newball, Riley, Waller, Brown, Wright and Cowlishaw.  The game ended 2-2, with Butler and Wright on target for the visitors and Tony Lee getting both Boro goals.
 
Our clubs' next meeting was in Boro's Conference championship winning season of 1986-87.  The GMAC Challenge Cup was a new venture to replace the Bob Lord Trophy.  It was a knock-out competition involving Conference teams and clubs from the three feeder leagues.  Boro had defeated Hyde United, Gateshead and Buxton before being drawn away to Burton Albion who had beaten Worksop, Nuneaton, Bishop's Stortford and Morecambe.  A crowd of 2,391 saw the Brewers progress with a 1-0 win, the goal scored by ex-Boro favourite Bob Gauden.  The programme is shown on this page.
 
It was to be a further fourteen years until a Cup-tie brought us together again - an FA Trophy 4th Round tie on 3rd February 2001 here at the McCain, with Burton again going through thanks to a solitary goal from Darren Stride. 
 
When Burton were promoted to the Conference in 2001, their first game was against Boro at Eton Park.  An eventful game (programme shown alongside) finished 1-1.  The goals were scored by Karl Rose and Steve Evans, Boro midfielder Nick Henry was sent off following an incident with Nigel Clough, and four Boro players were booked.  In the return game it was the Brewers' turn to upset the referee, with Stuart Reddington and goalkeeper Dan Robinson sent off as Boro built a 4-1 win thanks to Paul Shepherd, Bimbo Fatokun and two late goals from Jason Blunt
 
In 2003-04, Burton did the double over Boro.  In the fourth game of the season, Jacques Williams and Keith Gilroy suffered serious injuries as Burton claimed a 2-1 win here.  Mark Quayle had scored with a cracking header from a Gilroy centre, but goals from Christian Moore and Dale Anderson secured the points for the Brewers.  Later that season Boro gave a rather lifeless display at Eton Park and were defeated 2-0, although the first goal from Glenn Kirkwood was well worth the admission money.  Sam McMahon got the second.
 
In August 2004, Boro produced their best fifteen-minute spell of the season, opening up am early 3-0 lead at Eton Park through Neil Redfearn, Robert Gill and a Ryan Austin own goal.  The Boro fans in the 1,302 crowd saw all the goal action at close range, as a second-half goal from Robbie Talbot and a late Craig Dudley penalty brought the score back to 3-2.  In March 2005 our teams drew 1-1 here at the McCain, Neil Redfearn and Chris Hall both scoring in three frantic minutes halfway through the first half.
 
In 2005-06 we visited the Pirelli Stadium for the first time.  After 27 minutes there was a scramble in the Boro box which was relieved by a brilliant Steve Baker diving header, only for the referee to bizarrely award Burton a penalty for an alleged handball by Kevin Nicholson.  Aaron Webster converted.  Boro equalised on 50 minutes when Brian Wake turned in a Mark Quayle cross, but a disputed free kick gave Keith Gilroy the chance to centre for Webster to grab his second and win the game for the Brewers.  However the final game between the teams ended in a convincing 3-0 win for Boro, in fact the last ever victory for Boro in the national division of the Conference.