Our ‘On This Day’ series moves on to 14th January and begins with the club’s first game against local rivals Wealdstone in a Middlesex Junior Cup tie in 1911 which was saw the Stones draw first blood with a 1-0 win.
The next match took place in 1922 and saw Hampstead Town take on another local rivals in the shape of Enfield in an Athenian League tie. The E’s took no pity on Town, coming away with an emphatic 5-0 win. Things marginally improved six years later when a visit to Sutton United ended with the hosts once again netting a nap hand but there was some consolation in the form of strikes from Oscar Reinke and Billy Neill.
As with our look back to the 10th January, a home game against Uxbridge Town in 1933 was abandoned with 5 minutes remaining due to heavy fog with Hampstead 4-2 up. The game was eventually replayed in May. Moving forward to 1939 and an Amateur Cup tie with London Caledonians finished goal-less.
The club’s first win on 14th January finally arrived in 1950 when Bowaters Lloyd were beaten 3-0 in the Amateur Cup thanks to goals from Roy Stroud, Bill Rey and Bob Avis and it was back to Athenian League action in 1956 when Gordon Holden and Graeme Cunningham netted to secure a 2-1 win over Redhill.
In 1961 Arthur Figg netted for the Greens in a 1-1 draw against Southall in the Athenian League before 1967 saw a return to the Amateur Cup and a 3-0 win at Ilford. David Hogwood, Bobby Cantwell and Jimmy Quail with the goals to move into the next round.
From the Amateur Cup into the FA Trophy and a 1978 tie at Romford, little more than a postcode away from Ilford was won 2-0. Glenn Southam and Peter Anderson scored the goals for the Greens yet there was no such luck 11-years later when another local derby with Enfield in the same competition ended with the E’s dishing out a 4-1 drubbing at Southbury Road, substitute Andy Smith netting Hendon’s solitary goal.
Rodney Richards, father of Derby County’s Colin Kazim-Richards, scored one of the goals in 1995 as Bishop’s Stortford were beaten 2-1 at Claremont Road, Dave Flint was also on target and in 2003 an interminable and tedious FA Trophy tie at Scraley Road against Heybridge Swifts ended 0-0.
Three years later and a visit to 2006 produced a surprise as Gary McCann’s struggling side took on big-spending and high-flying Fisher at Champion Hill. Andy Cook’s second half finish, coolly sliding the ball home after striding through the offside trap clinching three vital points for the Greens and, for the third day in four we bring tidings of a fruitless visit to Longmead where Tonbridge Angels comfortably triumphed 3-1 in an Isthmian League fixture, Karl Oliyide on target for the Greens but to no avail.
Of the fifteen matches played on 14th January, half a dozen have been won to date, three drawn, five lost and another home match with Uxbridge Town abandoned. 22 goals have been scored and 21 conceded.