SUMMARY
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| Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Ave Att: |
| 33 | 18 | 4 | 11 | 5,213 |
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Programme Style 1993/94
This issue, for the Brighton game in January 1994, was deliberately chosen because it depicts one of the great memories that happened a fortnight previously. Preecey’s wondrous strike against QPR in the FA Cup is one that is as vivid now, 26 years later, as it was on the day. Full highlights of the game can be accessed by clicking on the link in the list below, but here’s the goal itself. Edgeley Park erupts!!
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The Brighton match was a 3-0 win, with Preece following up his FA Cup heroics with a hat-trick, the third I’d seen him claim, after triples at Darlington, (3/3/92), and at home to Swansea, (30/10/93). The goal against QPR, featuring highly in MoTD that evening, pushed him onto the national stage, and come the summer of 1994 he left for Crystal Palace. Bergara had paid £15k for him. He left, 110 (+10) games later, having hit the target 54 times.Our paths have crossed frequently in recent years in his capacity as Assistant Manager at Chorley, our rivals in two promotion battles in 2018 and 2019.
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WEMBLEY – A LONG, SORROWFUL AND WINDING ROAD
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Thirty three home games in the calendar year included 26 league games; 6 cup ties of varying types and one Play-Off semi final. I managed to get to them all, whilst at the same time ‘doing’ 19 away games. The demands of a young family meant that the vast majority of my away trips were to the relatively local games.
We came into the year, after the play-off heartache in May 1993, in 2nd place, 7 points adrift of leaders Reading and level on points with 3rd placed Plymouth. All that was needed was a consistent run into the end of the season and the promised land of Division 1, (Tier 2), would be reached. By February 1st things were looking good. In addition to cup wins over QPR and Scunthorpe we picked up 10 points from 4 league games. We were then 8 points behind Reading but with 3 games in hand. Things then fell away. The FA Cup draw had promised much – we would play the winners of the replay between Liverpool and Bristol City. A chance to see Liverpool on EP again. Sadly not as the Robins won at Anfield and then gave us a humiliating thrashing, with Wayne Allison hitting us for a hat-trick.
The league form dipped, and only 9 wins in the 21 league games after beating Blackpool at the beginning of February saw chances of the title fade away. We went into the last game of the season, at home to Hull, knowing that a win was vital, and also relying on Port Vale not winning away at Brighton. Neither result went our way as we stumbled to a scoreless draw, and Vale picked up the win. We were even denied 3rd place as Plymouth travelled to Hartlepool, won 8-1 and consigned us to 4th spot on goal difference.
The Play-Off semi final saw us take on York, and after a goalless affair at Bootham Crescent in the 1st leg, a Chris Beaumont goal in the return game saw us get to Wembley for the 4th time in 2 years. The opposition were Burnley. It was a dark afternoon as catalogued in the post about the old Wembley Stadium.
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A DAWN FOR ARMSTRONG AND TWILIGHT FOR FRANCIS
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The 1994/95 season dawned with some new acquisitions. Coming down from the north-east were Alun Armstrong and Tony Dinning, who joined from Newcastle. Both were to play an absolutely integral role in the success over the next 3 or 4 years. Armstrong gave us notice that he knew the way to goal on the opening day against Cardiff and any fears that the goals of the departed Andy Preece would be missed were assuaged.
Other newcomers who made less of an impact were Michael Oliver; Deiniol Graham and Kevin Slinn. Martyn Chalk, who arrived from Derby was more of a fixture, but had faded away within a couple of years. Jeff Eckhardt came from Fulham, with a decent record, and certainly proved to be a useful addition over the next couple of seasons. Looking at the team picture below I note that Dean Connelly features. He never made a single appearance!
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The Squad 1994/95
Back (l to r): Alun Armstrong; Tony Dinning; Jeff Eckhardt; Mike Flynn; Michael Oliver; Kevin Slinn; Dean Emerson
Middle (l to r): Dave Philpotts, (Coach); Dean Connelly; Sean Connelly; Neil Edwards; Iron Ironside; John Keeley; Chris Beaumont; David Miller; John Sainty (Asst Mgr)
Front (l to r): Dave Jones (Coach); Deiniol Graham; Kevin Francis; David Frain; Danny Bergara, (Mgr); Peter Ward; Martyn Chalk; Lee Todd; Rodger Wylde, (Physio)
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By the end of October we had won 9 times in 14 league games and stood 3rd. The play-off heartache of May didn’t seem to have taken too much of a toll, and hopes were high of going one better this time round. Things then turned for the worse. Two wins from the next 9 league games until the end of 1994, added to six defeats left us heading into 1995 with 7 points from a possible 27. We had exited the FA Cup at the first time of asking, going down by a single goal at Wrexham. The poor form had led to a slump to 11th place. Things needed to change in the New Year. And change did come, but hardly in our fortunes on the field. The dismal form continued.
We had seen the last game of 1994 end in a 2-1 home defeat to Bradford. Little did we know that as Kevin Francis climbed off the subs bench that afternoon in his first appearance since late October, following an injury, that it would be the last we saw of him in that record breaking time he had spent at EP. He ended his spell in just the way we had come to expect since that debut at Sincil Bank just under 4 years previously. Another goal – the 117th in County colours. It was to be his last, despite a 4 game return 5 years later.
And even more, and something that could never have been contemplated as the New Year dawned, was that the reign of Danny Bergara, who had taken the club from the nether regions; gave us promotion; 4 Wembley appearances, had but three and a half months to run.
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Back to 1993 Forward to 1995 Home Games Summary Page Away Gamses 1994..
THE HOME GAMES I SAW THIS YEAR
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| Day | Date | Competition | Tier / Round | Opponents | Res | F | A | Crowd | Home Game |
| Sat | 01/01/94 (Highlights) | Endsleigh League Division 2 | Tier 3 | Barnet | W | 2 | 1 | 5,121 | 441 |
| Sat | 08/01/94 (Highlights) | FA Cup | Round 3 | Queens Park Rangers | W | 2 | 1 | 7,569 | 442 |
| Tue | 11/01/94 | Autoglass Trophy | Northern Round 2 | Scunthorpe United | W | 2 | 0 | 4,404 | 443 |
| Sat | 22/01/94 | Endsleigh League Division 2 | Tier 3 | Brighton & Hove Albion | W | 3 | 0 | 6,657 | 444 |
| Tue | 01/02/94 | Endsleigh League Division 2 | Tier 3 | Blackpool | W | 1 | 0 | 5,288 | 445 |
| Sat | 05/02/94 | Endsleigh League Division 2 | Tier 3 | Fulham | L | 2 | 4 | 5,488 | 446 |
| Wed | 09/02/94 (Highlights) | FA Cup | Round 4 | Bristol City | L | 0 | 4 | 7,691 | 447 |
| Sat | 19/02/94 | Endsleigh League Division 2 | Tier 3 | Huddersfield Town | W | 3 | 0 | 5,071 | 448 |
| Tue | 01/03/94 | Autoglass Trophy | Northern Semi-Final | Huddersfield Town | L | 0 | 1 | 4,980 | 449 |
| Sat | 05/03/94 | Endsleigh League Division 2 | Tier 3 | Hartlepool United | W | 5 | 0 | 4,076 | 450 |
| Tue | 15/03/94 (Highlights) | Endsleigh League Division 2 | Tier 3 | York City | L | 1 | 2 | 3,899 | 451 |
| Sat | 26/03/94 | Endsleigh League Division 2 | Tier 3 | AFC Bournemouth | L | 0 | 2 | 5,277 | 452 |
| Tue | 29/03/94 (Highlights) | Endsleigh League Division 2 | Tier 3 | Brentford | W | 3 | 1 | 4,361 | 453 |
| Tue | 19/04/94 | Endsleigh League Division 2 | Tier 3 | Port Vale | W | 2 | 1 | 5,910 | 454 |
| Sat | 23/04/94 | Endsleigh League Division 2 | Tier 3 | Cardiff City | D | 2 | 2 | 5,455 | 455 |
| Thurs | 28/04/94 (Highlights) | Endsleigh League Division 2 | Tier 3 | Reading | D | 1 | 1 | 7,221 | 456 |
| Sat | 07/05/94 | Endsleigh League Division 2 | Tier 3 | Hull City | D | 0 | 0 | 7,666 | 457 |
| Wed | 18/05/94 (Highlights) | Endsleigh League Division 2 | Tier 3 Play-Off Semi-Final (2nd Leg) | York City | W | 1 | 0 | 6,743 | 458 |
| Sat | 13/08/94 (Highlights) | Endsleigh League Division 2 | Tier 3 | Cardiff City | W | 4 | 1 | 5,139 | 459 |
| Tue | 23/08/94 | Coca-Cola Cup | Round 1 (2nd Leg) | Preston North End | W | 4 | 1 | 4,547 | 460 |
| Sat | 27/08/94 | Endsleigh League Division 2 | Tier 3 | Brentford | L | 0 | 1 | 4,399 | 461 |
| Sat | 10/09/94 (Highlights) | Endsleigh League Division 2 | Tier 3 | AFC Bournemouth | W | 1 | 0 | 4,054 | 462 |
| Tue | 13/09/94 | Endsleigh League Division 2 | Tier 3 | Shrewsbury Town | W | 2 | 1 | 3,473 | 463 |
| Tue | 20/09/94 | Coca-Cola Cup | Round 2 (1st Leg) | Sheffield United | L | 1 | 5 | 5,109 | 464 |
| Sat | 24/09/94 | Endsleigh League Division 2 | Tier 3 | Wycombe Wanderers | W | 4 | 1 | 4,607 | 465 |
| Sat | 08/10/94 | Endsleigh League Division 2 | Tier 3 | Rotherham United | W | 1 | 0 | 4,991 | 466 |
| Sat | 22/10/94 | Endsleigh League Division 2 | Tier 3 | Plymouth Argyle | L | 2 | 4 | 5,652 | 467 |
| Sat | 05/11/94 (Highlights) | Endsleigh League Division 2 | Tier 3 | Oxford United | L | 0 | 2 | 5,132 | 468 |
| Sat | 26/11/94 | Endsleigh League Division 2 | Tier 3 | Birmingham City | L | 0 | 1 | 5,577 | 469 |
| Tue | 29/11/94 | Auto Windscreens Trophy | Northern Round 2 | Scarborough | W | 3 | 1 | 2,310 | 470 |
| Sat | 10/12/94 | Endsleigh League Division 2 | Tier 3 | Cambridge United | W | 2 | 1 | 3,903 | 471 |
| Mon | 26/12/94 (Highlights) | Endsleigh League Division 2 | Tier 3 | Wrexham | D | 1 | 1 | 5,642 | 472 |
| Sat | 31/12/94 | Endsleigh League Division 2 | Tier 3 | Bradford City | L | 1 | 2 | 4,613 | 473 |
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