On this day – 7 May
A look back through the archives to see what was happening to Reds on the 7th May in previous years…….
We haven’t been in action too often on this day yet, coincidentally, two of the matches played have been against Goole Town.
The 1994 encounter at the wonderfully named Victoria Pleasure Grounds was blessed with some cracking goals as Reds, in sky blue shirts (above), pieced together a 4-1 victory.
Martin Henderson opened the scoring only for Goole to restore parity via David Travis’ sweetly struck ‘thirty-yarder’.
Lee Chambers’ half-volley and a fine Gary Messenger solo effort saw Reds take control before Henderson (pictured) grabbed his second, Reds’ fourth, two minutes from time.
Martin’s goals were his 22nd and 23rd of the season.
We also played the East Yorkshire side at Borough Park in 1979 with the outcome a thoroughly entertaining 3-3 draw. Andy Clarke scored his one and only goal for the club in the first half, with Steve Crelling (pictured) and Barry Donaghy adding their names to the score sheet as two enterprising teams shared six goals.
Goole’s Charlie Green caught the eye on the day and netted one of the goals and, interestingly, his name would surface again in later years. From a half decent non-league player he became a successful, albeit controversial, businessman, and has been the chief executive of both Sheffield United and Rangers in recent years.
Football League outings on this day produced mixed results and a trip to Aldershot in 1977 ended in a 2-0 defeat. An inexperienced Reds line-up displayed plenty of character before conceding twice in the second half
Talented cricketer, David Marshall, made his Football League debut for Reds alongside other newcomers Martin Scholes and Kenny Wallace – all regulars for the reserves that season.
There was a familiar face in the Aldershot team with former Workington player, Dave Howitt, turning out for the hosts.
Our 1970-71 season ended with a jaunt to the capital and a third meeting against Brentford. The league encounter at Borough Park ended all square (1-1), they then returned to knock us out of the FA Cup (0-1) and had it all their own way at Griffin Park in a one-sided 3-0 victory.
But it was our day in 1966 with the end of season flourish continuing at Gillingham’s expense. Geoff Martin’s first goal of the season helped secure a valuable 1-0 win which saw Reds (5th) leapfrog the Gills (6th) and complete our highest ever finish in the Football League.
Not the best of days for the club in 1949 with a 4-0 North Eastern League reverse at West Stanley followed by the resignation of high profile manager, Sam Barkas. Reds hadn’t enjoyed the best of times under the former England captain, who had won a championship medal with Manchester City, with the ’48-49 campaign our poorest at that level. There was a better outcome in 1932 when Billy Charlton scored his 56th and 57th league goals of the season in a 2-0 home win over Chopwell Institute. The prolific Charlton finished with a personal tally of 63 goals that season which, needless to say, remains a club record.
