CAMBRIDGE UNITED met Boro fourteen times in the Football League, Boro winning six and Cambridge five, with three matches drawn. 
 
The historic first meeting of our sides was in Boro's first season in the Football League, and took place at the Abbey Stadium on 28th December 1987, refereed by a young David Elleray.  A solitary goal from on-loan winger Darrell Pugh of Rotherham gave the U's the points, in front of a crowd of 3,243.  Later the same season the teams played out a goalless draw at the McCain in what was the final Boro appearance for Ernie Moss, and also the last appearance of Kenny Lowe's short but promising stay at the Boro.  Despite failing to score a goal on these first two occasions, Boro have in fact hit at least one goal in all twelve subsequent league meetings.
 
Boro gained a 2-2 draw at Cambridge in 1988-89, with Craig Short netting a rare goal, and later the same season took maximum points from the U's for the first time in a 2-1 home win with Gary Brook and newly-arrived Martin Russell on target.  The following year we drew 1-1 at home but were thrashed 5-2 away as United finished in 6th place and gained promotion by beating Chesterfield in the first ever play-off final at Wembley Stadium.  Centre-back Steve Richards - previously on Cambridge's books for a short while - had played for Boro in each of the first five meetings of our teams.  There seem to have been very few other players who have appeared for both our teams, with only Jamie Barnwell-Edinboro coming immediately to mind.
 
In 1995 Cambridge returned to the bottom tier of the Football League accompanied by Plymouth Argyle, Cardiff City, Chester City and Leyton Orient as the recently-renamed Division Three was expanded from 22 clubs to 24.  Our reunion with United ended in a 4-1 defeat at the Abbey, but Boro equalled things out with a 2-0 home win with the superb Jason Rockett notching a rare goal.
 
1996-97 saw a similar pattern, with Boro losing 2-1 away but winning 1-0 at home.  The game at the Abbey Stadium saw the Boro debut of that scourge of the PA announcers, Michael McElhatton. The same Cambridge-Boro match also saw the last game of a tremendous run of 101 consecutive appearances for the reliable Darren Knowles, to be replaced the following game by the arrival of John Kaye.  Darren was only to start a further five games before leaving the club after four years' service.   The home game that season was won by a solitary Steve Brodie goal, his second goal on only his fourth Boro appearance.
 
Our play-off season of 1997-98 saw us do the double over Cambridge for the only time, with a 1-0 home win followed by a 3-2 win away. The home leg had been on the opening day of the season and had meant debuts for Ian Snodin and Carel van der Velden, whilst the away win was achieved through two Brodie goals and one from Gary Bennett.
 
Our early-season win at Cambridge in 1998-99 saw Jason Lydiate on the Boro scoresheet for the only time ever, in addition to a rare goal from Alex Marinkov and one from the reliable Gareth Williams.  However, United travelled up to Yorkshire in February to find Boro in the middle of a goalkeeping crisis following Tony Elliott's unfortunate injury, and debutant loan keeper Mark Goodlad had a nightmare as the visitors put five past him to win 5-1 … our worst home defeat in twelve years in the Football League.  This result also dumped Boro into bottom place in Division Three, a position from which we were unable to recover.
 
In November 2002 our clubs met in the FA Cup for the first time ever.  A goalless draw here at the McCain was watched by a crowd of 2,064, whereas there were 3,173 spectators at the Abbey to see Cambridge progress 2-1 after extra time.
 
Our teams then met in the Conference in 2005-06.  Boro put in a superb performance at the Abbey Stadium but inexplicably finished the game 2-1 down,  Tony Hackworth scored the Boro goal.  Cambridge were the last side ever to play at the McCain Stadium in the Confernce national division and went away with a 2-1 win despite Neil Redfearn's goal.

CANVEY ISLAND made two visits to the McCain Stadium without defeat, whereas Boro visited Canvey twice without scoring a goal or earning a point!
 
On 4th September 2004 Canvey made their first-ever trip to the McCain.  It was a good game, with Canvey playing some very open and attack-minded football.  Both keepers made good saves to keep the match goalless until late in the first half, when a Kevin Nicholson pass allowed Tony Hackworth to take the ball round keeper Danny Potter and set up a tap-in for Steve Burton (who, later that season, was to spend a loan period at Canvey).  Boro were generally on top, and Neil Redfearn hit a thunderous effort against the bar, but with a quarter of an hour remaining Ollie Berquez picked out Junior McDougald who turned and scored with a great strike.  Boro's line-up that day was Walker, Baker, Hotte, Cryan, Nicholson, Kerr, Redfearn, Thompson, Gill, Hackworth and Burton, with Gilroy and Senior coming on as substitutes.  Canvey fielded Potter, Starling, Chenery, McGhee, Duffy, Sedgemore, Gregory, Kennedy, Joseph, Boylan and McDougald, with Berquez and Midgley also playing a part.
 
Down at Park Lane in April 2005, a superb goal from Lee Boylan was the difference between the sides as Canvey battled for the points which would ensure their Conference survival.  After only four minutes, Boylan created a chance out of nothing with a long-range volley which dipped into the net giving Leigh Walker no hope of stopping it.  Chris Senior had a couple of good chances for Boro and Neil Gregory hit the bar for the Gulls, but the home side played with great determination and secured the points.
 
In 2005 we lost 1-0 at Park Lane to a John Kennedy goal, and Canvey completed the doubleover Boro when they gained a 2-1 win at the McCain in March 2006.  Substitute Michael Coulson netted Boro's goal.  At the end of this season Canvey withdrew from the Conference - and Boro were relegated.

CARDIFF CITY were Boro's opponents on sixteen occasions in the Football League.  The first meeting was on 4th November 1987, a 1-1 draw with Stewart Mell on target.  Cardiff won the return match at Ninain Park 2-0 as the Bluebirds stromed to promotion.  Our paths crossed again in the from 1990 to 1993, with Cardiff gaining four wins out of six, the other two games being drawn.  From 1995 to 1999 we were again in opposition, and Boro finally managed a win on their tenth attempt with a 1-0 win at the McCain thanks to Andy Toman's goal.  Boro's best performance came on 3rd April 1998, a 3-1 win which seemed at the time to have almost guaranteed Boro's promotion.  The unlikely scorers were Ben Worrall (2) and Gary Bennett.  Cardiff did the double over Boro in 1998-99, by scores of 1-0 and 2-1

CARLISLE UNITED first met Boro when we gained promotion to the Football League in 1987, although we had previously played against their reserve team in the Northern Counties League in 1961/62 and the renamed North-Eastern League in 1962/63.  During these two seasons we visited Brunton Park three times (League and League Cup) and won on two of those occasions; we won all three home matches including a 7-1 victory in November 1962 with Cliff Jones scoring five and Tommy McQuaid the other two.
 
Fast forward to 26th November 1987 for our first meeting in Barclays League Division Four, when our visit to Cumbria ended in a heavy 4-0 defeat even though Carlisle were destined to finish 23rd in the table as opposed to Boro's 12th place.  The Boro team on that day included Kevin Blackwell, Neil Thompson, Steve Richards, Ernie Moss, Ray McHale and Tommy Graham.
 
Carlisle's first ever visit to the Athletic Ground was on Boxing Day of that season and saw Boro triumph 3-1 in front of a crowd of 3,261.  The goalscorers in this mightily memorable match were the three Ms, Moss, Mell and McHale!
 
Carlisle's next visit here, to the now-renamed McCain Stadium, was also memorable but for different reasons.  An FA Cup Second Round tie in December 1988 was a one-sided game with Boro on top and statistics showing that Carlisle did not have a single shot on goal - yet the result was a 1-0 win for United, thanks to an incredible long-range own goal by Steve Richards past Kevin Blackwell!  This was just two weeks before Neil Warnock's reign as manager ended after an alleged row with chairman Geoffrey Richmond. 
 
The game at Brunton Park earlier that season was won 1-0 by Boro in front of 2,617 spectators thanks to a Tommy Graham goal.  In ten Football League meetings at Brunton Park, this was to be Boro's only three-pointer!  Even at home, Boro had little success with only three wins, four draws and three defeats in the record books.
 
In the fateful season of 1998/99, Boro travelled across-country in October and were defeated 1-0.  Boro's rather heavyweight line-up included Jason Lydiate, Wayne Bullimore, Jamie Hoyland and Liam Robinson as well as the much more slender Richard Jackson and Steve Brodie.  The return game in April was a 3-0 Boro victory thanks to a Chris Tate hat-trick.  Yes, a Chris Tate hat-trick!  Enough has been written about the last day of that season, but the final league table of 1999 interestingly shows that Boro and Carlisle were only narrowly behind three other teams - Hartlepool, Torquay and Hull City - who have had very contrasting fortunes since then.
 
In 2004-05 our sides met again in the Nationwide Conference.  Boro travelled to Brunton Park on a Tuesday evening and took an early lead through Neil Redfearn, but an excellent second-half performance earned Carlisle the points through substitute Kevin Henderson and a late winner from Kevin Gray.  The return game on 29th January 2005, with Carlisle heading for a return to the Football League, ended 1-1 with Mark Hotte scoring a rare goal for Boro.

CHELSEA played Boro three times, and ended with a win, a draw and a defeat.
 
In 1989/90, Boro were in Football League Division Four and Chelsea were in the top flight, though still named Division One at that time.  In mid-September, Chelsea had just won 4-1 at Spurs and were fourth in the table, behind Everton, Liverpool and Coventry, whereas Boro had won two games out of eight and were in a lowly 18th spot.   
 
So, in the Littlewoods Cup, 2nd Round, 1st leg, Chelsea were odds-on to record a big win.  Things didn't go quite to plan at Stamford Bridge, however, for in the 6th minute a long clearance from Mick Clarke saw Steve Norris hassle Dutch Under-21 international Ken Monkou into lobbing the ball over his own keeper Dave Beasant into the net.  Boro's glory was short-lived, though, because only two minutes later a Peter Nicholas free kick was touched on at the near post by Tony Dorigo for Graham Roberts to poke the ball into the net.  There was no further score and the game finished at 1-1. 
 
On to October 4th 1989 and the second leg at the newly-renamed McCain Stadium.  Chelsea had meanwhile climbed to second spot in their division, having beaten Coventry and drawn 0-0 with Arsenal.  After a goalless first half Chelsea looked to be in control when they went 2-0 ahead through Steve Clarke and Kevin Wilson with only twenty minutes left to play, but an incredible Boro fightback brought goals from the evergreen Tommy Graham and 18-year-old Paul Robinson playing only his sixth game after promotion form the reserve team.  Within a space of seven hectic minutes, Boro netted a third when Steve Norris was brought down and Martin Russell calmly converted the penalty.
 
The Boro team in that epic match included goalkeeper Kevin Blackwell, Alan Kamara, and Chris Short.  The Boro defence included one of the best pairs of centre-backs the club has ever had, Steve Richards and Ian Bennyworth.  Other members of the team not already mentioned were Paul Olsson and Steve Saunders. 
 
On 2003-04 Boro reached the Fourth Round of the FA Cup for the only time in their history, and were drawn at home to Chelsea.  Boro had reached this stage by beating Hinckley United, Doncaster Rovers, Port Vale and Southend United.  A lunch-time kick off with a reduced-capacity all-ticket crowd provided good viewing as the "live" game on Sky TV despite a very heavy pitch.  John Terry scored early on for Chelsea, and Frank Lampard hit the post with a wickedly-swerving long-range effort.  But Boro competed well despite only having a couple of clear chances.  Near the end William Gallas plainly handled a high ball, bur referee Barry Knight seemed not to see and Chelsea completed a 1-0 victory.

CHELTENHAM TOWN opposed Boro in the Conference for two seasons.  In 1985-86 Boro won 1-0 at home but lost 5-1 away.  In 1986-87 Cheltenham won 3-1 at the Athletic Ground but Boro gained their revenge in the return fixture with a 3-1 win thanks to goals from Mitch Cook (2) and Neil Thompson.

CHESTER CITY were demoted into the bottom tier of the Football League in 1993 but powered their way to immediate promotion including the double over Boro.  When they dropped back in 1995, Boro scrambled a point with a goalless home draw but were thrashed 5-0 away.  Not until the seventh meeting did Boro gain a win, a 4-1 score in October 1997 helped by two goals from Gareth Williams.  Boro's only Football League win on the Welsh border was in 1998-99, with Chris Tate scoring twice and Matty Russell once to gain a 3-1 final score.
Down in the Conference, we met again between 2000 and 2004.  Chester generally had the better of the results, but Darryn Stamp came on as substitute to hit the winner at the McCain in October 2001.  Chester clinched promotion to the Football League in the penultimate game of the 2003-04 season with a fortunate 1-0 win over Boro watched by a packed crowd of 5,987 at the Deva Stadium.

CHESTERFIELD played Boro in the Football League between 1989 and 1995, although their Reserve team had been opponents of Boro in the Midland League between 1928 and 1937.  Gary Brook scored twice in the first ever meeting in November 1989 but the Spireites won 3-2.  At Saltergate Boro gained a point from a 2-2 draw.  Boro's first win came in the opening home game of 1990-91, a 1-0 success with Pauil Dobson on target, and Boro repeated the scoreline in Derbyshire with Andy Mockler getting the goal.  In our final season of league matches in 1994-95, both matches ended 1-0 to the away team, with a Steve Charles penalty earning the points at Saltergate.
The FA Cup paired our teams on three occasions - amazingly, in three successive seasons!  In 1994-95 goals from Andy Toman and Jason White earned Boro a 2-0 win at the McCain after a 0-0 draw at Saltergate, but the following year the Spireites came to the Yorkshire coast and triumphed 2-0.  They repeated this scorelline the following season at Saltergate in our clubs' final ever meeting.

CHORLEY met Boro in the first season of the Northern Premier League in 1968-69.  The Magpies triumphed 3-1 at home, but Boro turned the tables with a memorable 5-2 win late in the season at the Athletic Ground.  Chorley were relegated at the end of that season, with Boro narrowly clinging on to NPL status.  Our clubs met in the FA Trophy on two occasions, a 1-0 defeat at Chorley in 1971-72 and a 1-0 win at the Athletic Ground in 1984-85 thanks to Marshall Burke's goal.  In 1978-79 we met in the FA Cup, with Boro winning 1-0 at Chorley thanks to a strike from Harry A Dunn.

COVENTRY CITY suffered a major embarrassment in the only meeting of our clubs in 1991-92.  City, then in the top flight of English football - and indeed in third place in the league table - played Boro in the Second Round of the Coca Cola Cup and gained a 2-0 lead in the first leg at Highfield Road.  The second leg was goalless with only 18 minutes to go and City seemingly coasting through to the next round.  But… Tommy Mooney got a goal.  Then… in the 89th minute Darren Foreman equalised.  And… with injury time almost up and extra time looming, Boro centre back Lee Hirst got the winner!

CRAWLEY TOWN played Boro on four occasions after their promotion promoted from the Dr. Martens League in 2004, when they finished no fewer than twelve points ahead of Weymouth in the final league table. 
 
The major connection between our clubs was Steve Wicks, who left Crawley to become Boro manager in October 1993 and remained here until the next summer.  One of his signings was Crawley Town striker Craig Whittington who scored 10 goals in 30 appearances for Boro before joining Huddersfield Town.  Rather less successful was Jack Dineen, who also came up from Crawley but made only two Boro appearances. Steve Burton also played for both clubs.
 
In 2004-05 Boro travelled down to Crawley in late November for the first ever meeting of our teams.  Boro lined up with Walker, Baker, Foot, Foster, Thompson, Kerr, Redfearn, Cryan, Nicholson, Senior and Gill, with Gilroy, Hackworth and Burton all taking the field in the second half.  The Crawley team was Smith, Palmer, Dolan, Simpemba, Judge, Jenkins, Wormull, Armstrong, Harkin, Tait and Marney, with Mapes and Davidson coming on as substitutes.
 
Boro rarely got their passing game going, and it was no surprise when Crawley took the lead.  The referee gave Crawley a rather generous free kick just outside the area for a tackle by Luke Foster, and Neil Jenkins' free kick was unluckily headed past Leigh Walker by Boro defender Kevin Nicholson.  In the second half Crawley scored a very good goal, with Paul Armstrong running through the Boro defence to square the ball and allow Allan Tait a simple tap-in.  Crawley then tended to sit back and allow Boro possession, but the visitors didn't score until the 87th minute when a Keith Gilroy cross found Steve Burton in the six-yard box.  Burton mis-kicked the ball but it just made it across the line!  On the whole, a deserved win for Crawley.
 
At the McCain Stadium in late February, Boro went for Gill and Hackworth up front with David Pounder making a rare appearance on the left side.  Boro had to come from behind twice, but had enough possession to have won the game easily.  Boro started well and Tony Hackworth hit the post early on, but a mix-up in the Boro defence following a Crawley corner allowed Allan Tait another easy tap-in!  Boro equalised almost immediately, with Colin Cryan storming down the right and crossing to Hackworth who finished superbly.  Fifteen minutes into the second half Boro gave away a free kick which went like a rocket from the boot of Paul Armstrong via the underside of the crossbar and into the net.  Boro again replied immediately, with Mark Hotte heading the ball goalwards for Pounder to bundle it over the line.   From then on the game saw Boro on top and Crawley desperately defending, but our visitors held out and Boro had to make do with their tenth draw of the season.
 
In 2005-06 Crawley won 2-1 at the McCain despite a goal from Michael Coulson, and our final meeting on 11th March 2006 was an easy 2-0 win for Crawley marred by the behaviour of stone-throwing hooligans who broke a window in the Boro players' coach.

CREWE ALEXANDRA first met Boro in a league match in 1987, when a young David Platt scored the only goal at Gresty Road.  Later that season Steve Richards and Steve Adams scored for Boro in  a 2-0 home win.  The following season Boro gained a win and a draw against Alex, but Crewe finished third to earn promotion whereas Boro were fifth and lost out in the play-offs.  Our clubs met again between 1991 and 1994, the highlight being a 3-2 away win in January 1993 with goals from Darren Foreman, Kyle Lightbourne and Tommy Mooney.
It had been the FA Cup which first brought our teams into opposition.  In 1962-63 a great team performance and some superb saves from keeper Jock Quairney earned a 1-1 draw at Gresty Road, but Crewe won the replay 3-2 after extra time at the Athletic Ground despite goals from Peter Whyke and Gerry Smith.  Boro gained another away draw in 1973-74, but this time won the replay 2-1 with goals from Gerry Donoghue (penalty) and Harry Dunn.  On1977-78 the FA Cup draw sent Boro to Crewe for a third time and - yes, Boro earned a third draw.  A crowd of 7,341 was at the McCain to see Boro win 2-0 with Johnny Woodall and Gerry Donoghue hitting the net.

CRYSTAL PALACE were Boro's opponents in the FA Cup Third Round in 1975-76 which marked Boro's first appearance on BBC TV's "Match of the Day".  A crowd of 8,008 saw Malcolm Allison's side win 2-1, with Boro's consolation goal coming from Derek Abbey.

DAGENHAM & REDBRIDGE made six league visits to the McCain Stadium, and their predecessors DAGENHAM FC also competed here six times in league competition
 
Of courses we enjoyed many battles with Dagenham FC, including the memorable FA Trophy Final at Wembley in 1977 when Boro finished 2-1 ahead thanks to an equalising penalty scored by Harry A Dunn and a late goal tapped in by Derek Abbey.
 
The first ever meeting of our clubs had been here at the Athletic Ground on 21st February 1976 in the Third Round of the FA Trophy.  Dagenham, then in the Isthmian League, had beaten Southern Leaguers Wimbledon after a replay to reach that stage, whilst Boro, of the Northern Premier League, had also needed a replay to vanquish Goole Town.  The match, watched by a crowd of 3,861 was evenly balanced with Dagenham playing attractive football, yet it was Boro who were able to convert their chances.  Harry A Dunn prodded in a Gerry Donoghue cross after 21 minutes, and John Woodall added the second after 34 minutes from another Donoghue centre.  Dagenham spent much of the second half on the attack, yet Boro clinched the game after 81 minutes when Woodall set up a tap-in for substitute Derek Abbey.
 

Our teams' first league encounter was in the Alliance Premier League (later renamed Conference) after Dagenham's promotion from the Isthmian League in 1981, and Boro competed against them every season until our promotion to the Football League in 1987.  Our first league meeting came when Boro visited Victoria Road on 17th October 1981 and drew 2-2, with Malcolm Smith and Colin Williams scoring for Boro, Peter Burton and Ronnie Howell for Dagenham. The programme shown on this page is from the 1982-83 season, a game which ended 1-1. Boro's best-ever result against Dagenham was a five-nil home win in the Alliance Premier League on 6th October 1984, thanks to goals from Neil Thompson (penalty), Mark Palios, Trenton Wiggan and two generous own goals from our visitors!  In a total of fourteen meetings with Dagenham FC, Boro won seven and drew seven, with no defeats at all.

In Boro's promotion season of 1986-87 we did the double over Dagenham.  Tommy Graham and Neil Sellers scored in a 2-1 win here, and towards the end of the season Stewart Mell and Stewart Hamill gave us a two-nil win in Essex as we compiled our record-shattering 13 consecutive away wins.
 
We then recommenced our rivalry against the merged club of Dagenham & Redbridge when we rejoined the Conference in 1999 - and it has to be said that our record against the renamed club was completely different to the results mentioned above!  Our first four visits to Victoria Road had ended in defeat, 4-2 in 2001/02 and 1-0 on the other three occasions.  Boro put that particular statistic right with a thumping 3-0 win in November 2004 probably Boro's best away performance of that season, with goals from Chris Senior, Neil Redfearn and Colin Cryan.  At home it was a similar situation, Boro had had two 1-0 defeats and two 0-0 draws, so the 2-0 victory in February 2005 was our first home win over Dagenham & Redbridge.  Colin Cryan scored both Boro goals in this game.
 
Boro won 2-0 at the Glyn Hopkin Stadium in August 2005 with Jake Speight and Brian Wake netting the goals, but the final meeting of our clubs was a 1-0 win for the Daggers at the McCain Stadium on 28th January 2006.

DARLINGTON first met Boro in the FA Cup way back in 1891.  The result is lost in the mists of time.  Well OK, Darlington won 13-1.  Between 1900 and 1908 both clubs were in the Northern League and fortunately the results were much closer!   We met again in the FA Cup in 1908, Darlington winning 3-2 despite goals from Alf Francis and Lionel Charlwood.  In 1928 an FA Cup match in front of 7,208 spectators at the Athletic Ground ended 2-2 with Darlington edging the replay at Feethams 2-12.  Billy Clayson netted for Boro in both games.  On to 1937, and Boro knocked the Quakers out of the FA Cup 2-0 at Feethams before progressing to the Third Round for the First time where they went out after a replay to Luton Town. 
 
For three years in the early 1960s Boro were in the same league as Darlington Reserves, and we did not meet at first team level until another FA Cup tie in 1976.  The match at the Seamer Road ended 0-0, with Darlo winning the replay 4-1.
On Boro's promotion to the Football League the Quakers won the first two encounters but Boro triumphed at the third attempt in October 1988 with Steve Norris (2) and Craig Short netting in a 3-2 home win.  Boro's first win at Feethams was not until October 1992, a 3-2 win with Darren Foreman, John Ashdjian and Mark Jules on target.  Probably the most memorable game from a Boro perspective was in February 1996 when newly-signed striker David Currie - from Darlington - scored a hat-trick as Boro won 4-1 at the McCain with Michael McElhatton getting thte other Boro goals. 

The final meeting came in April 1999, with Boro struggling against relegation and unable to prevent a 2-0 win for the visiting Darlington team.

DARTFORD first met Boro in the Alliance Premier League in 1981-82.  Boro did the double, 2-0 at home and 1-0 away as Dartford were relegated.  The Kent team returned in 1984-85 and won both games by the same 3-1 margin as they finished in a magnificent third place with Boro in sixth position.  In 1985-86 both games ended 1-1 as Dartford were relegated again.

DARWEN, a famous old club who had been members of the Football League as far back as 1891, came to the Athletic Ground for an FA Cup First Round tie in 1935-36.  A crowd of 4,946 saw Boro triumph 2-0 thanks to hot-shot Albert Smithson and ex-Sheffield United and Manchester United player Tom Boyle.

DONCASTER ROVERS had a Reserve team in the Midland League and encountered Boro regularly between 1928 and 1958, indeed Boro were one of the first teams to appear under floodlights at Belle Vue.  Not until 1964 did our clubs meet at first team level, in an FA Cup Second Round tie which ended goalless in Doncaster and needed a replay at the Athletic Ground on a Wednesday afternoon which Rovers edged 2-1 despite David Cade's goal.  In 1972 history repeated itself, a Second Round tie at the Athletic Ground ending 2-1 to the visitors with Colin Appleton netting Boro's goal in front of a crowd of 7,109. 

In 1987 Boro's second match as a Football League club was a League Cup match against Rovers, a 1-0 win for Boro with Steve Richards grabbing the goal.  But in the second leg Rovers won 3-1 to go through 3-2 on aggregate.  The first Football League meeting was in 2nd January 1989, a 3-1 defeat for Boro at Belle Vue, but two months later Paul Olsson and Gary Brook ensured a 2-0 home win for Boro.  Further games between the clubs were generally close affairs, but Boro gained a splendid 4-0 win at Belle Vue in 1993-94 with goals from Shaun Murray, Craig Whittington, Steve Charles and Mark Calvert.   Boro had a 4-0 home win in 1997-98 thanks to strikes from Gareth Williams (2), Gary Bennett and Michael McElhatton an completed the double with a 2-1 win at Belle Vue - Neil Campbell and Jason Rockett on target - as Donny ended bottom of the table and dropped into the Conference... to be followed one year later by Boro!

Boro did the double over Rovers in the Christmas and New Year derbies of 2000-01, a rare Denny Ingram goal contributing to the 3-1 home win.  On Boxing Day 2002 it was Rovers' turn to celebrate, an amazing 5-2 win at the McCain watched by a crowd of 3,435.  But towards the end of the season Mo Sillah got the goal which brought Boro a 1-0 win at Belle Vue in the last league meeting of out teams.
 
The teams met in the FA Cup First Round the following season, a late Karl Rose goal giving Boro a 1-0 home win and setting up the magnificent Cup run against Port Vale, Southend and Chelsea.

DOVER ATHLETIC met Boro six times in the Nationwide Conference between 1999 and 2002.  The first-ever encounter of our teams was down on the Kent coast on 9th October 1999 when we shared the honours in a 1-1 draw thanks to a penalty from Darren Roberts.  The full Boro team in that first meeting was Kevin Martin, Simon Betts, Mark Tyrell, Marvin Harriott, Shaun Rennison, Marcus Jones, David Bass, Gareth Stoker, Steve Brodie, Andy Morris and Darren Roberts.
 
Our first meeting up here in Yorkshire ended in a 2-1 away win to the Lilywhites.  Boro's sole goal was scored by Ian McNiven in front of a crowd of 1376.  At the end of that season, Boro finished in fourth place in the league and Dover finished sixth, which remains their highest ever Conference placing.
 
In the 2000-01 season, Boro made amends for previous poor results by doing the double over Athletic, the score being 2-0 on both occasions.  Gareth Williams scored two for Boro down at Crabble in September, while back up here in February Paul Ellender and David Pounder got the goals.  Boro finished the season in 10th place in the Conference, with Dover in 15th spot.
 
In 2001-02 we met in October, in the dark days before Malcolm Reynolds took over and when every match was potentially Boro's last.  A certain Keith Scott scored for Dover after only two minutes, but Andy Windross equalised a few minutes before the end for a 1-1 draw.  In February the Seadogs travelled down the M2 for a crucial six-pointer and went ahead after 33 minutes through Dene Shields.  Boro had to withstand some Dover pressure and were indebted to a last ditch, er, header from Mark Hotte on the goal line to preserve their lead.  The points were wrapped up when Darryn Stamp scored in the closing minutes.  Boro's revival eventually took them up to 12th place in the final league table, but Dover could only muster 39 points and finished bottom of the pile.
 
In 2002-03 we met in the FA Trophy.  A David Pounder goal was not enough for Boro to win the game at the McCain, so there was a Monday night replay at a frozen Crabble which Dover won 2-1 despite Paul Dempsey's goal for Boro.

DROYLSDEN encountered Boro only twice, in 2006-07 as Droylsden cantered to the Conference North championship and Boro stumbled towards relegation.  However, Boro astonishingly completed the double over the Lancashire outfit. Boros only visit to The Butcher's Arms was in November 2006, where despite going a goal down they fought back to win 3-1 through Lee Cartwright's first Boro strike, then an own ghoal after great work from Tony Hackworth, and finally a Chris Thompson penalty after home centre-back Garry Burke dived full-length to handle the ball off the line.  The return game in March was a fiery affair, and was settled 1-0 in Boro's favour through another Thompson penalty.

ENFIELD met Boro four times in the FA Trophy, a 2-1 Boro home win in 1974-75 (Jeff Barmby and Ken Houghton on target), a 1-0 Boro home win in the 1975-76 Semi Final First Leg (Jeff Barmby again) followed by a goalless draw in the Second Leg at Enfield, and finally a 4-2 defeat at Enfield in 1981-82 (Colin Williams from the spot and Ian Smith).

Our clubs then competed against each other in the Alliance Premier League (Conference) from 1981 to 1987.  Boro won 4-1 at Enfield in the first league meeting, with Pat Olney, Colin Williams (2) and Dave Bowman hitting the net for Boro, but thereafter Enfield came out victorious more often than not.  In Boro's championship-winning 1986-87 season, a Stuart Mell goal brought three points from the visit to Enfield, but the return game ended 1-1 with Phil Walker netting for Boro.

EXETER CITY made eleven visits to the Yorkshire coast, ending in four Boro wins, five Exeter wins and two games drawn.  Eight of these games were in the Football League, the last three were in the Conference.
 
The first time our clubs ever met was in Boro's first Football League season.  On October 10th 1987 a crowd of 2,472 here at the McCain saw a 3-1 Boro win thanks to goals from Stewart Mell, Ian Bennyworth and Ernie Moss.  Our return game at St. James Park  was on 12th March 1988 and ended in a 1-0 home win.  By the end of the 1987-88 season Boro had settled into 12th and Exeter were 22nd, one place above Carlisle but well ahead of bottom club Newport County.  It is interesting to note that the top three teams in that final league table were Wolverhampton Wanderers, Cardiff City and Bolton Wanderers.
 
In 1989-90 Exeter were champions of Division Four, with 89 points from their 46 games.  Six of these points were at Boro's expense, with the Grecians winning 2-1 here and 3-2 at St James' Park - Paul Dobson scoring all three Boro goals.  The game at Exeter on 28th April 1990 was actually the one where Exeter clinched the title and was watched by a crowd of 6,850. Boro finished 18th that season.
 
After four seasons at a higher level, Exeter joined Boro in the re-named Division Three and again did the double over us.  The Grecians' 5-2 win in Devon in 1994-95 remains their best-ever result against us, an unhappy day for our young third-choice goalkeeper Kevin Martin, making only his third league appearance whilst Gavin Kelly and Stuart Ford were out injured.  The Boro goals that day were scored by Stuart Young and substitute David D'Auria.  Exeter won 2-0 here that January as both teams struggled at the bottom of the league.  By the end of the season both our teams had won only 8 games and had 34 points - Exeter, with a worse goal difference, finished bottom of the division but were not relegated. 
 
There was another high-scoring match up here in 1996-97, with Exeter coming out 4-3 on top.  Gareth Williams scored two for Boro, with Darren Currie converting a penalty.  The game at St James Park had ended  2-2,with Andy Ritchie and Ben Worrall on target for Boro.
 
Boro's best-ever win against Exeter was a 4-1 home result in 1997-98 thanks to goals from Steve Brodie (2), Mike McElhatton and Gareth Williams.  Brodie also scored at St James' Park that year as Boro finished in the play-off positions - and, to the dismay of Exeter fans, then lost to their south coast rivals Torquay United.
 
In Boro's relegation season of 1998-99, our first away match was at Exeter and ended in a 1-0 defeat.  In January we won the return game 1-0 thanks to an Alex Marinkov penalty. 
 
With Exeter having joined us in the Conference in 2003, we travelled to St. James' Park in September for a rather uneventful 0-0 draw, mainly notable for Russell Slade's "sending off" by the referee.  The Grecians came up here on a Tuesday night in March and won 3-2.  Boro opened the scoring through a Jimmy Kelly penalty, but Gareth Sheldon's spectacular volley levelled the game.  Tony Hackworth's long-range goal put Boro back in front, only for Jamie Coppinger to tap in the equaliser for a half-time score of 2-2.  Sean Canham scored what proved to be the winner in the 54th minute.
 
In 2004-05 our teams drew 1-1 here at the McCain, with Neil Redfearn's strike being equalised by a Barry McConnell penalty.  Boro travelled down to Devon on 18th December, with the Grecians looking forward to their FA Cup tie against Manchester United at Old Trafford.  The Cup tickets were on sale to the general public on the proviso that they also bought a ticket for the Exeter v Boro game - a shrewd marketing ploy, surely - and a crowd of 4,529 watched the Conference game which finished 3-1 to the home side.  Neil Redfearn's superb free kick had put Boro ahead after 21 minutes, but a strong second-half performance from the Grecians resulted in goals from Dean Moxey, Steve Flack and Sean Devine (penalty). 
 
Exeter's final visit to the McCain Stadium earned them a 1-0 win on 10th December 2005.  We met again on the last day of that fateful season, with some Boro fans travelling down by plane for the weekend.  Boro, desperately needing a win, were strangely unadventurous in front of a crowd of 3,382.  Tony Hackworth's goal earned Boro a 1-1 draw which was not enough to stave off relegation.

FARNBOROUGH TOWN first met Boro on 24th November 2001, in the very first game after Malcolm Reynolds took over as chairman and installed Russell Slade as Boro manager.
 
Boro were rooted to the foot of the Conference table at that time, below Hayes and Dover with only two wins from 19 games, whilst Farnborough were in sixth position.  New manager Russell Slade brought in a new goalkeeper, Mark Smith, to cover for Andy Woods who was serving a suspension.  Smith barely touched the ball, however, as Boro controlled the game despite only having a single goal to show for it, scored in the 23rd minute by Andy Windross.  It later transpired that Smith had been incorrectly registered, having previous been a non-playing substitute for Morecambe that season, but the Conference's harsh three-point deduction from Boro's total was reduced to one point on appeal.
 
Later that season, the return fixture at Cherrywood Road was settled by a Chris Piper hat-trick in a 4-2 home win.  Tony Taggart notched the other Town goal, with Jason Blunt and Darryn Stamp netting for Boro. 
 
The following season we travelled back from Farnborough with a point from a 1-1 draw, a Bimbo Fatokun header equalising a first-half header from Jim Rodwell. Graham Westley's Farnborough team was Tony Pennock, Michael Warner, Steve Watson, Christian Lee, Dean Green, Ken Charlery, Garry Butterworth, Gary Holloway, Rocky Baptiste, Darren Annon and Jim Rodwell.  The Boro line-up was Andy Woods, Mark Hotte, Paul Sheppard, Shaun Rennison, Anthony Ormerod, Olivier Brassart, Bimbo Fatokun, Gareth Stoker, Richard Dryden, Nick Henry and Keith Scott.
 
Boro won the return game of 2002-03 by 1-0, when Nathan Bunce put through his own goal after Paul Shepherd's shot had come down off the crossbar.
 
In 2003-04, Farnborough came up North for the opening fixture of the season on 9th August, and were unlucky to lose 2-1 to a late and twice-taken Keith Gilroy penalty.  Karl Rose scored the other Boro goal, with Ken Charlery on target for Town who had Nick Burton sent off late in the game.  The return game at Cherrywood Road, just before Christmas, also finished 2-1 to Boro.  This time it was the Seadogs who lost a player when Matt Redmile was red-carded after half an hour for a deliberate handball even though he could not prevent Ali Chabaan's shot crossing the line.  Ashley Sestanovich had earlier put Boro ahead, and Mark Quayle scored the winner in the second half.
 
In 2004-05 we travelled down to Hampshire and came back with the three points, courtesy of a Neil Redfearn strike just after half time. The final game between our clubs took place on 9th April 2005 and featured a David Reeves hat-trick as Boro coasted to a 4-0 win.  Scott Kerr grabbed the other goal.

FARSLEY CELTIC entertained Boro In 1964-65 in a First Qualifying Round game which finished goalless. The replay at the Athletic Ground also finished 0-0 despite extra time, so a third game was needed - again at Scarborough. This time Boro surged through by five goals to nil, thanks to Johnny Edgar (2), Barry Dunn, Joe Rose and Owen Laffey.  In 1972-73 Boro visited Throstle Nest in the Second Qualifying Round and won 1-0 thanks to a Malcolm Thompson goal.

The only time Boro and Farsley have met in league competition was in 2006-07, when the game at the McCain Stadium ended 0-0.  The return match brought Boro three Conference North points with a sparkling performance and a 2-0 win thanks to Jamie Vermiglio and Darren Thornton.

FLEETWOOD were founder members of the Northern Premier League in 1968 and beat Boro 1-0 on the Lancashire coast on 21st August of that year.  Boro won the return fixture 2-0 but ended below Fleetwood in the league table for the only time.  In 1970-71 Boro did the double over Town 3-2 away and 6-0 at home with two goals each for Tony Lee, Kenny Ellis and Alan Franks.  Boro repeated this achievement in 1973-74, Malcolm Leask netting a hat-trick in the 3-0 away win and Jeff Barmby getting three in a 5-0 home win.  There were other doubles for Boro in 1974-75 and again in 1975-76 including a 6-1 home win as Fleetwood finished bottom of the table.

FOREST GREEN ROVERS met Boro over the course of seven seasons. The first-ever meeting of our two clubs took place in Nailsworth on 21st August 1999. Boro came out on top on that occasion, thanks to a solitary goal from Simon Betts. 
 
Towards the end of the 1999-2000 season Forest Green made their first trip to the McCain, and
suffered a 5-0 defeat to Colin Addison's Boro team.  Steve Brodie, Neil Thompson, Chris Tate and Darren Roberts scored for the Seadogs, along with an own goal from Ian Hedges. 
 
In the season of 2000-01, Boro again did the double over the Rovers.  The first game ended 3-2 at The Lawn with Gareth Williams adding to goals from Brodie and Betts.  Forest Green's first-ever goal against Boro was a Tony Daley penalty, with Adrian Foster adding the other.  Boro won 1-0 at the McCain later that season with Cherif Diallo on the scoresheet.
 
In 2001-02 we entertained Forest Green on the first day of the season, the game ending all-square, with Darryn Stamp netting for Boro and Alex Meechan for Rovers.  In the away fixture in early December, Boro had just installed Russell Slade as manager and the points were again shared - David Pounder and Richard Dryden scoring for Boro, Carl Heggs and Mark Cooper for Rovers.  The programme from that game is shown on this page, with FGR manager Nigel Spink using his column to greet his "old mate" Slade.  The league table on that date showed Boro and Chester City in the bottom two places with twenty games played, with Forest Green up in 8th spot.
 
In 2002-03 our teams played out a third successive draw, without either side hitting the net at The Lawn, before a 3-0 home win for Boro thanks to two from David Pounder and one from on-loan Cleveland Taylor.
 
In 2003-04 we shared the points up here in September, with Neil Grayson and on-loan Steve Brodie causing all sorts of problems for the Boro defence.  Grayson scored both the visitors' goals, one of them a penalty, but his feat was matched by Mark Quayle who also scored two including one from the spot.
 
On 7th February 2004 came Boro's heaviest defeat under Russell Slade, the 4-0 hammering at Nailsworth mentioned above.  Grayson again scored a couple, with Scott Rogers claiming the other two goals.
 
We next visited Forest Green on 2nd October 2004 - exactly 125 years after Scarborough Football Club played its first match.  The Boro fans were in celebratory mode with streamers and balloons, and after the match we were made very welcome in the social club as we celebrated our club's anniversary with cake and sparkling wine.  Even the match itself had gone nicely (for us!), with Keith Gilroy netting a late goal for a 1-0 win.  In January 2005 Alan Lewer's side made their way to the McCain, with the game finishing goal-less.
 
Neil Redfearn scored the winner as Borobeat Rovers 1-0 in September 2005, but a truly dreadful performance in Gloucestershire saw Boro slump to a spineless 5-1 defeat despite David McNiven's goal.

FULHAM competed against Boro in the basement division of the Football League between 1994 and 1997.  The first meeting was at Craven Cottage on 13th September 1994 and brought a surprise 2-1 win for Boro thanks to goals from Gary Swann and David D'Auria.  The return fixture was even better, a 3-1 Boro win with Jason White, David D'Auria and Rob Scott on target.  Fulham restored the balance in the following season, with a 2-2 draw in Scarborough and a 1-0 win in London, then beat Boro 2-0 and 4-0 in 1996-97 as they stormed to promotion.

GAINSBOROUGH TRINITY met Boro on many occasions, during three lengthy spells in the Midland League commencing in 1927.  The clubs then met regularly in the Northern Premier League between 1968 and 1979 and finally got together again in Conference North in 2006-07.  Our clubs also contested FA Trophy ties in 1973-74 (a 1-0 home win for Boro) and 1979-80 (a 2-1 defeat at Gainsborough).

In August 2006 there was a rather uneventful 0-0 draw at the McCain Stadium, whereas at the Northolme on 31st March 2007 Trinity had an easy win - indeed when Scarborough Football Club went out of business after the end of this season, Gainsborough were the club who had inflicted the last-ever away defeat on the Seadogs.  Jimmy Beadle scored for Boro but Trinity won 3-1.

GATESHEAD played Boro under various names and at several grounds (in Gateshead and elsewhere!)  The first occasion was an FA Cup Second Round tie in 1948-49, when a crowd of 9.114 saw Boro's Midland League outfit lose 3-0 to a side destined to finish runners-up in Football League Division Three (North).  Our clubs first met in league competition in the short-lived Northern Counties League in 1960-61, but later met in the Northern Premier League for seven seasons and the Conference for three seasons.  The final meetings in 1986-87 provided Boro with a "double", 1-0 away (Stewart Mell getting the goal) and 3-2 at home (Phil Walker, Ray McHale and a Mitch Cook penalty).

GILLINGHAM met Boro in the Football League between 1989 and 1996.  Gillingham did the double over Boro in the first season, but George Oghani (pen) and Paul Doibson earned Boro a 2-1 home win early in the 1990-91 campaign.  Boro never ended on the winning side in seven visits to Kent.  As Gillingham powered to promotion in 1995-96, they ended the campaign with a home match against Boro, which they won 1-0 in front of a crowd of 10,421.

GRAVESEND & NORTHFLEET (Ebbsfleet United) made seven visits to the McCain Stadium, where they failed to collect a win.  The games resulted in six Boro victories  and a single draw.  The situation was reversed down at Northfleet, however, with four emphatic Gravesend wins and three draws.
 
As Boro initially struggled to gain decent away results in the inaugural Conference season of 1979-80, our visit to Stonebridge Road on 22nd September ended in a comprehensive 3-0 defeat watched by 1,179 spectators.  As Boro pottered along in mid-table, Gravesend were to finish the season in fifth spot, twelve points behind champions Altrincham.  The return game between our sides at the Athletic Ground on a sunny April day had ended 1-1 on a hard, bumpy pitch, with centre-forward Bob Gauden notching his fifteenth of the season before the visitors equalised through Phil Stonebridge, who had also scored in the away game.  Boro had a golden opportunity to win the game when a controversial penalty was awarded to Boro in the 88th minute, but Harry A. Dunn failed to convert the kick.
 
By the following season of 1980-81, Boro had improved their squad and were destined to end in a creditable third place, behind Altrincham and Kettering.  The Fleet, meanwhile, had slumped to 15th place.  Boro won the home game 1-0 in front of 2,052 fans, with defender Richard Dixey getting the all-important goal.  Down in Kent in the following March, winger Pat Olney got the goal in a 1-1 draw, with Jeff Bryant scoring for the Fleet.
 
The Alliance Premier League was increased to 22 clubs in the summer 1981, by including the Isthmian League as a feeder league and admitting the top two teams, Enfield and Dagenham.  This was also the season when a win became worth three points rather than the previous two, in the hope of encouraging attack-minded football.  Boro certainly attacked when Gravesend came to Athletic Ground in November 1981, trouncing the visitors 5-0.  Colin Williams and Terry Eccles both scored twice, and there was a first-ever Boro goal for a young Mitch Cook, who had just broken into the first team and was making his eleventh appearance.
 
The final Alliance Premier League meeting of our clubs was at Stonebridge Road on 3rd April 1982, when Boro were riding high in third place in the league and the Fleet destined for relegation.  The form book was torn up as Gravesend stormed to a 3-0 win (scorers: Todd, Bryant and Hubbick) but this could not stave off their demotion along with Dartford and Leamington.  Gravesend went down into the Southern (Dr Martens) League and even down into the regionalised lower divisions before bouncing back to the Conference by winning their league in 2001-02 after a nail-biting battle with Canvey Island.
 

After that gap of twenty years, Gravesend made up for lost time by inflicting a 5-2 defeat on Boro in 2002-03 - Liam Hatch 2, Che Stadhard (penalty), Jimmy Jackson and one of Mark Hotte's extensive range of own goals, with Keith Scott scoring both Boro's replies.  A measure of revenge was gained in the return match with a 3-2 win - Ryan Mallon, Neil Campbell and Keith Scott on target for Boro, Jimmy Strouts and Mark Bentley for the Fleet.

In 2003-04 Boro gained a 2-0 win early in the season, with a Mark Quayle penalty and a strike from substitute Chris Senior.  The return game finished 1-1, with Colin Cryan scoring his first Boro goal after Steve Perkins had put the Fleet in front.

2004-05 saw the Fleet come up to Scarborough in December and were beaten by a single Tony Hackworth goal.  In March, however, came Boro's heaviest defeat of the season.  Down in Kent an own goal from, yes, that man Hotte again, broke the deadlock followed by goals from Jay Saunders, Jamie Pinnock and Fleet favourite Jimmy Jackson.  The 4-0 defeat matched the wet and miserable weather, brightened only by the Conference debut of midfielder Neil Bishop.

In 2005-06 Boro made a poor start under Nicky Henry, winning only three of the first fifteen games.  One of the wins was a 3-1 home victory over Gravesend.  Neil Redfearn was in charge for the return game which ended 0-0.

GRAYS ATHLETIC were promoted into the Conference in 2005 and inflicted two resounding defeats on our club.  Nicky Henry's team showed little inclination to battle for anything at the New Rec and were trounced 5-0 in October 2005.  Worse was to follow when Grays travelled up North near the end of the season and put on an absolutely superb performance which tore Neil Redfearn's team to shreds.  Goals from David McNiven and Simon Weaver were almost incidental as the visitors netted regularly to storm to a 7-2 win, with Michael Kightly notching a hat-trick.  Boro were relegated at the end of the season and the teams never met again.

GRIMSBY TOWN met Boro in the FA Cup Third Round in 1930-31 at the Athletic Ground, a crowd of 8,158 seeing a tight game which the visitors won 2-1 despite Boro's goal from Alf Palfreman.  In 1987 we met again in the same competition - same venue, same result.  Not the same scorer, of course - this time it was Tommy Graham.

Our clubs met in four occasions in the Football League, between 1988 and 1990.  Only one Boro win ensued ... 3-1 at Seamer Road in October 1989 thanks to Steve Norris (2) and Alan Kamara.