The story of 1986-87 Boro's Conference-winning campaign
In May 1986, long-serving clubman Harry Dunn was replaced at the helm by the relatively unknown Neil Warnock who had begun his playing career with Sheffield F.C. and moved into professional soccer with Chesterfield before playing for seven other League clubs. Moving into management with Gainsborough Trinity, Warnock was at Burton Albion when the Boro job came up.
Boro had retained only 4 players from the last campaign, so Warnock shopped around quickly to entice nine new players to the club, with his new assistant, Barry Gallagher, among these. Six others moved to the Yorkshire coast from Football League clubs - Mike Brolly, Tommy Graham, David Kaye, Paul Kendall, Cec Podd and Steve Richards. The other newcomers were Andy Harrison, from Kettering Town, and striker Stewart Mell, who was signed from Burton Albion. The only outlay was the £2,000 spent on Mell.
Saturday 16th Aug - Nuneaton Borough 3 Scarborough 0
Wednesday 20th Aug - Scarborough 0 Boston United 0
Boro's opening Conference performances were disjointed and uninspiring. Most individuals showed flashes of potential, but the team rarely knitted together and the failure to produce a single goal in 180 minutes was, at the very least, worrying.
Neil Warnock responded quickly to the situation, however, and two new players were signed. Mitch Cook was brought back to the club from Middlesbrough and £1500 was spent to fetch defender Ian Bennyworth from Nuneaton Borough.
Saturday 23rd Aug - Scarborough 2 (Cook, Gallagher pen) Wealdstone 1
Monday 25th Aug - Runcorn 0 Scarborough 2 (Cook, Bennyworth)
Saturday 30th Aug - Scarborough 1 (Cook) Nuneaton Borough 0
What a difference ten days can make. Both Cook and Bennyworth proved their worth as a trio of wins lifted Boro from the foot of the table to a challenging position among the early pace-setters. The team had begun to play well together and the biggest concern was the lack of striking success from the front players. Boro had twice as many points as goals, and It was already clear that the Gallagher-Mell combination was not working well.
Wednesday 3rd Sept - Northwich Victoria 0 Scarborough 1 (Cook) Saturday 6th Sept - Maidstone United 2 Scarborough 1 (Thompson) Defeat at Maidstone did not come as a major surprise. The Stones had started the campaign well and were always hard to beat on their own turf. The continuing problems up front made it a matter of urgency for action to be taken in the transfer market. Neil Warnock was not a man to shirk a challenge and he brought in striker Phil Walker from Chesterfield in a bid to solve the shortage of fire-power. With a new signing coming in, somebody was going to be unhappy, but the manager was ready to address that.
Wednesday 10th Sept - Scarborough 2 (Graham, Cook) Northwich Victoria 1 While Phil Walker did not score on his debut, it was clear that he was going to be a good signing, as he brought something different to the team. Mike Brolly dropped down to the substitutes' bench, accepting this like the sound professional he was. Boro's return to winning ways was achieved late, but it kept the team up with the leaders and seemed to be good preparation for the forthcoming Cup tie at old rivals Goole Town.
F.A. CUP - Saturday 13th Sept - Goole Town 2 Scarborough 1 (Walker)
Boro had an off-day, while Goole rose to the task. The only good things about the game were that Phil Walker scored his first goal for the club and the new central defensive duo of Ian Bennyworth and Steve Richards appeared worth persisting with. Named as substitute for the Cup match, a disgruntled Barry Gallagher appeared in Boro colours for the last time.
Despite what had happened at Goole, the temptation to make wholesale changes for the next league fixture was resisted.The crowd, which again topped 1000, were treated to an altogether different showing from Boro, who recorded a sixth league win of the season, with Stewart Mell finding his scoring touch at last.
Wednesday 17th Sept - Scarborough 4 (Mell 2, Cook pen, Walker) Frickley Athletic 2 Saturday 20th Sept - Scarborough 2 (Graham, Sellers) Dagenham 1
Tuesday 23rd Sept - Altrincham 1 Scarborough 0
Saturday 27th Sept - Scarborough 0 Barnet 0
The team completed its September programme well-placed in the table and showing the sort of form which promised a good season lay ahead. Unlucky not to beat high-flying Barnet, the Scarborough team had done enough to show they could compete with the Conference's top sides. Another 180 minutes without a goal was a bit of a cause for concern, but there was a confidence at the club now, which had not been evident five weeks earlier. Boro were without a midweek game and had therefore to watch as Barnet, 2-1 victors over Wealdstone, and in-form Maidstone United, 1-0 winners at Enfield, pulled further away at the top. Saturday 4th Oct - Scarborough 1 (Walker) Bath City 1
Wednesday 8th Oct - Scarborough 2 (Brolly, Bennyworth) Altrincham 2
Saturday 11th Oct - Telford United 0 Scarborough 0
Saturday 18th Oct - Barnet 2 Scarborough 2 (Walker, Mell)
Saturday 25th Oct - Scarborough 1 (Cammack) Cheltenham Town 3
With the club now down to tenth place in the table and without a win in 7 league games, there was an air of frustration among supporters by the end of October. The promise shown in the first exchanges of the campaign seemed to be destined to be unfulfilled. A series of good performances before the Cheltenham game had failed to produce deserved wins and the fear was that team confidence might dip further. There was even some talk of 'a long, hard winter' ahead.
Despite the disappointments, October ended with some good news. Cec Podd was back in training and a new assistant manager was drafted in to replace Barry Gallagher, who had left the club. The new face was that of Paul Evans, described by Neil Warnock as "a likeable bloke who gets on well with players". The manager had also reacted to goalkeeper Kaye's loss of both form and confidence by bringing in Kevin Blackwell from Barnet on loan. In retrospect, it is easy to look back at this stage in the 1986-87 season as a major turning-point for the Boro - at the time there was not a lot of optimism among supporters, but, as ever, there was plenty of hope. That's the nature of football.
Saturday 1st Nov - Scarborough 1 (Cook) Kettering Town 0
The win over the Poppies was Mike Brolly's last start for Boro. Swapping places with Stewart Mell, who began the afternoon on the bench, former Scottish schoolboy international Brolly's best days clearly lay behind him. At 32, with 413 Football League starts, 49 senior goals and 5 clubs, Brolly had had a good career in soccer, stretching back to 1971 when he had signed for Chelsea. It is possible that Neil Warnock thought that demotion to substitute might fire up Stewart Mell, whose 3 goals in 16 Conference starts was hardly a good return for the money spent on him. Mell returned for the visit to Stafford.
Saturday 8th Nov - Stafford Rangers 0 Scarborough 0
G.M.A.C. CHALLENGE CUP ROUND 1 - Wednesday 12th Nov - Scarborough 2 (Podd, Hartley) Hyde United 1
Saturday 15th Nov - Scarborough 2 (Mell, Cook pen) Sutton United 1
Saturday 22nd Nov - Frickley Athletic 0 Scarborough 2 (Bennyworth, Mell)
Boro had clearly turned the corner by the time the double over Frickley was achieved. With a run of five games unbeaten, four away league matches without defeat, and Stewart Mell scoring in successive outings, the season was back on track. The fixture at Frickley was to prove to be Graham Hartley's final start for Boro, being a further break with the recent past and just one of the changes at the club around this time. Kevin Blackwell's move from Barnet was made permanent, the 'keeper having been a crucial element in Boro's revival. The man Blackwell had replaced, David Kaye, left the club, dropping down a level to join Gainsborough Trinity.
Saturday 29th Nov - Weymouth 0 Scarborough 1 (Walker)
The victory in Dorset enabled Boro to draw level on points with second-placed Altrincham, who were held at home by Welling United. Barnet, 3-0 winners against Runcorn, were now clear at the top.
G.M.A.C. CHALLENGE CUP ROUND 2 - Wednesday 3rd Dec - Scarborough 1 (McHale) Gateshead 0
Saturday 6th Dec - Boston United 1 Scarborough 3 (Mell, Graham, Walker)
Saturday 13th Dec - Scarborough 2 (Cook pen, Mell) Stafford Rangers 0
Boro completed their fifth league victory in a row when seeing off the determined challenge of Stafford Rangers. All at the club awaited news of the result from Maidstone, where United were entertaining Barnet the same afternoon. For all players, officials and supporters a high was experienced when it was discovered that the Bees had been beaten by the Stones. This meant that Boro were top of the Conference - an early Christmas present for all at the club.
F.A. TROPHY ROUND 1 - Saturday 20th Dec - Scarborough 1 (Mell) Morecambe 0
The result barely mattered. Scarborough F.C. Chairman, Barry Adamson, died of a heart attack during the second half of the F.A. Trophy match. A staunch clubman, Mr. Adamson had been a director for the previous 11 years.
Friday 26th Dec - Scarborough 3 (Cook pen, Walker, McHale) Gateshead 2
Thursday 1st Jan - Gateshead 0 Scarborough 1 (Mell)
Boro opened the New Year with a tenth successive win. A key figure in this continuing success was Ray McHale, who had made his return to the team's midfield against Boston United on December 6th. Another sign of the overhaul in the Boro ranks which the 1986-1987 season produced is the fact that the visit to Tyneside was Kenny Dennis' last start for the team.
Saturday 3rd Jan - Scarboroiugh 0 Telford United 0
Failure to break United's dogged defence ended Boro's winning streak and cost the team the League leadership, because Barnet trounced their Cheshire visitors, Northwich Victoria, 4-0. It was, however, Neil Warnock's men's 13th match without defeat.
Saturday 10th Jan - Enfield 0 Scarborough 1 (Mell)
With Barnet's game at Stafford Rangers postponed, Boro's win carried the club back to the top of the table. Once again, the victory had been founded on solid, determined defence, the battling qualities which had become the hallmark of Neil Warnock's men, and the high level of team spirit installed in the Boro ranks. Remarkably, five successive league away wins had now been achieved.
F.A. TROPHY ROUND 2 - Saturday 24th Jan - Scarborough 2 (Cook pen, Thompson) Sutton United 2
F.A. TROPHY ROUND 2 REPLAY - Tuesday 27th Jan - Sutton United 0 Scarborough 2 (Cook pen, Mell)
Saturday 31st Jan - Cheltenham Town 2 Scarborough 3 (Cook 2, Thompson)
Saturday 7th Feb - Scarborough 0 Maidstone United 0
While Boro's sparkling away form continued, performances at home were not of the same quality. Failure to beat 10-man Maidstone cost not just 2 points, but also the leadership of the Conference. Barnet were again the beneficiaries, following their 3-1 success away at Nuneaton Borough. The worry for Neil Warnock, after three successive home draws, was that the team might get an attitude about this, especially if the crowd started to get on the players' backs through frustration.
F.A.TROPHY ROUND 3 - Saturday 14th Feb - Scarborough 0 Fareham Town 2
In one of the flattest performances of the season, Boro slid out of the Trophy with a little more than a whimper. Fareham took full advantage of a listless effort by the home team.
Tuesday 17th Feb - Wealdstone 1 Scarborough 3 (Walker, Mell 2)
G.M.A.C. CHALLENGE CUP ROUND 3 - Tuesday 24th Feb - Buxton 0 Scarborough 1 (Walker)
Saturday 28th Feb - Kettering Town 1 Scarborough 2 (Bennyworth, Thompson)
Saturday 14th Mar - Scarborough 1 (Walker) Enfield 1
Having extended their winning run in away games in the Conference to eight, Boro again failed to win at home. Though the team spurned many chances in the match against Enfield and therefore took only one point instead of three, there was some good news after the game. Barnet had lost 0-1 at home against Cheltenham Town. Boro were only one point behind their North London rivals, not the four point deficit expected.
Saturday 21st Mar - Scarborough 2 (Walker 2) Kidderminster Harriers 1
Neil Sellers made his first start for the team since November and, at last, Boro fans were able to celebrate a home win - the team's first since Gateshead were narrowly beaten on Boxing Day. Unbeaten in 17 league matches, Neil Warnock's charges stayed in touch with leaders Barnet, whose advantage remained just a single point.
G.M.A.C. CHALLENGE CUP ROUND 4 - Monday 23rd Mar - Burton Albion 1 Scarborough 0
Saturday 28th March - Welling United 1 Scarborough 3 (Sellers, Walker 2 inc 1 pen)
The victory at Welling carried Boro back to the Conference summit, as Barnet dropped two points by only drawing at Runcorn. With two away matches to follow, the team believed that they could turn the title screw on their North London rivals because of their incredible rate of success on their travels. And so it proved.
Monday 30th Mar - Dagenham 0 Scarborough 2 (Mell, Hamill)
The presence of Messrs. Flashman and Fry, the Barnet chairman and manager, in the crowd at Dagenham proved just the added incentive Neil Warnock needed to charge up his men. A tenth successive away victory extended Boro's lead to 4 points and the pressure was placed firmly on the Underhill club - the only outfit anywhere near Scarborough F.C. in the battle for the championship and promotion to the Football League.
Saturday 4th Apr - Bath City 0 Scarborough 3 (Hamill, Mell, Thompson)
Saturday 11th Apr - Scarborough 2 (o.g., Richards) Welling United 0
The addition of Stewart Hamill to the team in mid-March had given Boro an extra edge as the business end of the season arrived. Signed from Altrincham, Hamill had proved to be both a scorer and a provider. With four wins in a row, a run of 21 league games unbeaten, and an amazing away record, Boro had the Conference title firmly in their sights.
In midweek, Barnet won 1-0 at Bath City to close the gap behind Boro to four points, with both title rivals having 4 games to play. Barnet's last four fixtures included home games against Gateshead, Stafford Rangers and Dagenham, and an away trip to Wealdstone. It promised to be an interesting finish to the season, but how much drama this would involve could not have been predicted.
Saturday 18th Apr - Kidderminster Harriers 0 Scarborough 1 (Walker)
With Ray McHale returning to the side, another three points were taken from the latest away fixture as Boro marched, it seemed, towards the Conference crown. Barnet's win over the league's wooden spoonists, Gateshead, meant the gap stayed the same, with three matches left to play.
GM Vauxhall Conference - Top at April 18th, 1987
1 |
BORO |
39 |
25 |
10 |
4 |
59 |
30 |
85 |
2 |
Barnet |
39 |
24 |
9 |
6 |
84 |
37 |
81 |
Easter Monday brought Runcorn to the East Coast for Boro's penultimate home game of the season. A bumper crowd was expected for a confrontation which fans knew could see the club claim the title - if Boro won and Barnet lost at Wealdstone. With victories in both their previous home fixtures, Neil Warnock's team seemed to have got rid of whatever had been jinxing them since the New Year. Runcorn were a decent side, but, with no prospects of a late run on the title and free from any threat of relegation, the Linnets seemed to have little to play for. Boro, on the other hand, knew it could be 'the big day' and there was the little question of extending the record-breaking run. Even if the Conference could not be won that afternoon, the Boro team knew that another three points could make all the difference in the final reckoning. The biggest obstacle to be overcome was the tension of it all. When the first-half ended goalless, the atmosphere in and around the ground was nerve-wracking. Boro needed a goal to settle them. On 65 minutes this arrived and a sense of relief swept across the stadium. For 10 minutes, Boro led and had one hand reaching ever closer to the title. Then, Runcorn equalised and, in the 90th minute, hit a winner...
Monday 20th Apr - Scarborough 1 (Mell) Runcorn 2
GM Vauxhall Conference - Top at April 18th, 1987
1 |
BORO |
40 |
25 |
10 |
5 |
60 |
32 |
85 |
2 |
Barnet |
40 |
24 |
10 |
6 |
84 |
37 |
82 |
Neil Warnock now faced the biggest challenge of his managerial career. His job was to lift his side and convince them that one slip-up did not mean the end. The title was still there to be won and the team's fate lay in their own hands. Warnock was able to point out to his men that they had already won on the ground on their next opponents, Sutton United, back in January. The pressure, he reminded the Boro players, was still on Barnet. By beating Sutton the team would increase that pressure.
Saturday 25th Apr - Sutton United 0 Scarborough 2 (Mell, Cook)
A sixteenth successive unbeaten match away from home lifted Boro to 88 points - 6 clear of Barnet, who had no game. While the Underhill club had a better goal difference, they had to win both their remaining matches and hope Boro lost the game at home to Weymouth on the final Saturday of the season.
The Bees had to wait until the following Wednesday to play the first of these games. Mid-table Stafford Rangers provided the opposition. Boro fans knew that Stafford were a much better side, on their day, than their League position suggested. Barnet should have known this too - and prepared accordingly. However, this is what happened :
Wednesday 29th Apr - Barnet 1 Stafford Rangers 2
BORO WERE NOW CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS ! ! !
GM Vauxhall Conference - Top at April 18th, 1987
1 |
BORO |
41 |
26 |
10 |
5 |
62 |
32 |
88 |
2 |
Barnet |
41 |
24 |
10 |
7 |
85 |
39 |
82 |
As news filtered through to the North, the celebrations began. Neil Warnock described it as "the happiest day of my football career". Chairman Terry Wood commented, "This is the best day in the history of the club … it's the greatest day of my life." It was Boro's first title win for 24 years. It seemed like a dream come true. It was the best day the club had ever had in its 108-year history. Better still, there was a home game left to play on May 2nd. Fans would have their promotion party and the chance to celebrate with the team, management, and club officials.
Saturday 2nd May - Scarborough 2 (Mell, Richards) Weymouth 1
GM Vauxhall Conference Final Table 1986-87
1. BORO 42 27 10 5 64 33 91
2. Barnet 42 25 10 7 86 39 85
3. Maidstone United 42 21 10 11 71 48 73
4. Enfield 42 21 7 14 66 47 70
5. Altrincham 42 18 15 9 66 53 69
6. Boston United 42 21 6 15 82 74 69
7. Sutton United 42 19 11 12 81 51 68
8. Runcorn 42 18 13 11 71 58 67
9. Telford United 42 18 10 14 69 59 64
10. Bath City 42 17 12 13 63 62 63
11. Cheltenham Town 42 16 13 13 64 50 61
12. Kidderminster Harriers 42 17 4 21 77 81 55
13. Stafford Rangers 42 14 11 17 58 60 53
14. Weymouth 42 13 12 17 68 77 51
15. Dagenham 42 14 7 21 56 72 49
16. Kettering Town 42 12 11 19 54 66 47
17. Northwich Victoria 42 10 14 18 53 69 44
18. Nuneaton Borough 42 10 14 18 48 73 44
19. Wealdstone 42 11 10 21 50 70 43
20. Welling United 42 10 10 22 61 84 40
21. Frickley Athletic 42 7 11 24 47 82 32
22. Gateshead 42 6 13 23 48 95 31
And that's the story of the 1986-87 season!
And if you'd like to know what was happening on today's date in various years from 1879 to 2007, the link below will take you to the "Today in Boro History" page.
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