After the rampant disaster of yesterday’s retrospective today things improve markedly today, 24th February. We begin in 1912 and a friendly at Horsham that saw Hampstead Town win 5-1.

Moving onto 1923 and an Athenian League match against Guildford ended 2-0 thanks to goals from George Howell and Cecil Wise as the Flying Scotsman went into service for the first time. Moving ahead to 1934 an Billy Breagan and Herbert Knott grabbed three apiece, Freddie Evans netted twice and Jimmy Spalton once as Bromley were crushed 9-2.

Six-years later in 1940 Mac Cochrane and Harry Tomlinson each grabbed a hat-trick along with one from George Bucci saw Southall beaten 7-3 in a Middlesex Red Cross Cup tie. Five years later as Manilla was liberated from the Japanese whilst Egypt and Syria declared war on Germany as Southall gained revenge with a 2-0 win in the Herts & Middlesex County League.

In 1948 as the Communist Party took control of Czechoslovakia a rare midweek match saw an Amateur Cup replay at Barking end goal-less. 14 years later in 1962 Denny Smith netted twice in a 4-2 win over Wealdstone in the Athenian League with Miles Spector and Matt Farrell also on target.

Tony Harding and Roy Sleap were on target in a 2-0 win in 1968 in the Isthmian League against Ilford as US troops re-occupy the city of Hue in Vietnam and Rod Haider scored the only goal of the game in 1970 against Tooting & Mitcham United, also in the Isthmian League.
Keith Searle was on target with the only goal of the game in 1973 as Oxford City were beaten 1-0 to end a successful amateur era.

Life in the semi-professional era has proven rather different and things began as they were to continue in 1975 with a 4-1 defeat at Dagenham with Haider once again on target for the Greens. 1979 saw the highest price ever paid for a pig at $42,500 in Stamford, Texas, whilst in the Middle East war between North & South Yemen broke out. Meanwhile Tilbury came to Claremont Road in the Isthmian League and Peter Anderson’s goal sealed a point apiece.

1981 saw Wealdstone win in the Middlesex Charity Cup at Lower Mead 2-1 with Jock McGleish on target for the Greens with nothing more than a consolation, this on the day that Charles and Diana announced their engagement and your author was born. That was the last awayday on this day in history, everything else between then and today was played at either Claremont Road, Earlsmead or Silver Jubilee Park.

In 1987 Harrow Borough came to Claremont Road in the league and won 3-0 as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scores his 36,000th NBA point for the LA Lakers and three-years later in 1990 Gary Keen’s goal grabbed a 1-1 draw against Aylesbury United.

1996 saw a defeat to Purfleet, predictably, at Claremont Road 4-2, Josh Price and Michael Banton grabbing the goals for the Greens and five-years later ‘Fleet repeated the trick 2-1, Dale Binns this time on target.

In 2004 Ford United Dwayne Plummer and Eugene Ofori scored the goals in a 2-2 draw against Ford United and then in 2007 Brian Haule, Dean Green and Belal Aite-ouakrim each scored at home to Carshalton Athletic in a 5-3 defeat, the Greens unable to get to grips with Robins’ winger Mark Marshall who grabbed two goals before gaining a move into full time football within a year.

Moving ahead to 2014 and the first win of the semi-professional era finally arrived as Leon Smith came off the bench to grab the only goal of the game against Bognor Regis Town at Earlsmead before Zak Joseph netted in 2018 to grab a point from a visit from Lowestoft Town at Silver Jubilee Park after Jake Reed had given the Trawlerboys an early lead.

20 matches on 24th February have seen 8 wins, five draws and 7 defeats with 40 goals scored and 34 conceded.