We once again look at some of the stats connecting the two clubs and the date of this weekend’s game at the Riverside.
- Middlesbrough are not the only club from the town we have faced in our long history, as they had a short-lived local rival in Middlesbrough Ironopolis. Known as the Nops, 1893/94 was their only season as a league club, but we did face each other in successive seasons in the FA Cup. In January 1892, we won 6-0 at Deepdale, but the following season, the Nops surprisingly gained a replay with a battling 2-2 draw at Deepdale. Order was restored in the north east when we overran our hosts with a 7-0 victory that included a hat-trick from Frank Becton.
- Today’s game is only our fifth at the Riverside Stadium, where we are seeking our first win. Our first two games with Boro were at their original Linthorpe Road ground, the first ever being an FA Cup tie in 1892 after we had beaten the ‘Nops’, whilst our first league game in the town was in November 1901.
- The majority of league games took place at Ayresome Park where we only managed six wins in 37 attempts. Since a 4-0 win in 1953, we have only won once more in 14 attempts on Teesside, that coming in 1971 thanks to the only goal of the match by Alan Tarbuck. Our biggest victory saw us win 5-2 in 1951, whilst we were on the wrong end of a 5-1 scoreline in 1925.
On This Date
- Former players born today include Wayne Brown (1977), Ken Horton (1922), Tony Morley (1954) and Jeff Wealands (1951).
- The most recent player to make his debut on this date was Marlon Broomes in 2002. Prior to that, our first ever loan player Roger Davies played the first of his two games in a North End shirt in a 1-1 home draw with QPR in 1972. Other debutants include Simon Snow, Eric Potts and Emlyn Williams. Emlyn is one of only seven players to appear in the first team both before and after the Second World War, having first played in 1939.
- Matt Hill played his last game for North End on this date in 2008, before moving to Wolves in a deal that saw Stephen Elliott come to Deepdale. Gareth Ainsworth ended his second spell as a Lilywhite in 1995 before later spending a short loan period back at his spiritual home in 2002.
- Jim Baxter scored a hat-trick against this season’s opening day opponents Sheffield Wednesday in a 6-0 romp on this day in 1954.