On This Day: 27th March

Greensnet Editor
Sat 27 Mar 2021, 11:48

It’s another busy day today in the ‘On This Day’ section with a further 23 matches to look back on, albeit including one for which we have a date, but not a result.

That match was in the club’s first season when back in 1909 Christ Church Hampstead visited Pakeman Old Boys in the Finchley & District League Division 3. The scoreline is not known. Moving ahead to 1920 and on the day that Hermann Muller became the German chancellor J Croal and A Mallett hammered in the strikes that claimed a 2-2 Athenian League draw with Luton Clarence at The Avenue Ground.

There was a change of Government four years later in France with Poincare assuming the Presidency, meanwhile in Berkshire Windsor & Eton beat Hampstead Town 3-2 in the Athenian League, the line-up and scorers are currently not known. Two years later in 1926 the club finally picked up a first win on 27th March with a 2-0 win over Summerstown, Harold Pease and Oscar Reinke scoring the crucial goals.

After this fixture there was a scarcely credible 28-year gap until the next 27th March fixture came around in 1954. The Greens headed up the A1 to Hitchin Town and returned back to North-West London with a 1-0 defeat. Five years later and a Good Friday visit to Carshalton Athletic in the Athenian League saw the spoils shared in a 2-2 draw with Terry Robinson and Roy Thomas on target.

In 1965 the club visited Highbury for a local Amateur Cup semi-final derby against Finchley. ‘Wonderful! Wonderful!’ exclaimed the matchday programme in the aftermath of the 4-1 win. The Hyde-Quail “Knock-Out Drop” opened the scoring as Quail touched a free-kick sideways for Hyde to run onto and smash into the roof of the net, an advantage that remained until half-time.

Dave Emson extended the lead inadvertently with an own goal before Hyde added his second of the tie and Peter Slade grabbed the fourth to take the tie away from their North London neighbours. Jim Cooley grabbed a consolation after John Swannell had made a good save but the Greens were not to be denied. Back to Wembley and a final against Whitby Town.

In 1971 an Isthmian League match at Leytonstone ended 1-1 with Joe Pike coming off the bench to make his debut, score the Hendon goal and then never play for the first-team again. Two years later and with the title sewn up Sutton United were beaten to extend the Greens’ unbeaten start to the league season, Jimmy Wilsonham and an own goal securing the 2-0 win on the day that Marlon Brando turned down the Oscar for best actor for his turn as Vito Corleone in The Godfather in protest at the portrayal of Native Americans in film by Hollywood.

Three years later in 1976 Rod Haider and Steve Jefferies scored in a 2-0 win at Slough Town and a couple of years on in 1978 Enfield beat the Greens 2-0 in the Middlesex Senior Cup final at Finchley, a match which saw Bobby Southam dismissed for the Greens with eight minutes remaining.

Rod Haider scored once again against Slough Town in 1979, albeit this time in a 2-1 defeat as the Rebels gained revenge for their defeat three-years previously, this before a 1-0 defeat to Dulwich Hamlet in 1982 and a 1-0 defeat to Aylesbury United in 1990.

In 1993 as Jiang Zemin is appointed the President of China, Anthony Sibanda scored in a 1-1 draw at home to Bromley and the club finally returned to winning ways in 1999 with a 2-0 win over Billericay Town in which Gary Fitzgerald and Paul Whitmarsh scored the goals.

Just a year to the day later and Billericay Town were the visitors once again in a thrilling match that ended with the Greens taking the honours 3-2. Simon Clarke picked up his obligatory goal against the Blues, with top scorer Dominic Gentle also on target and Paul Scott opening his Hendon account. Three years later in 2003 and the Greens shook off the dismissal of Iain Duncan to secure a 2-0 win over Grays Athletic on the road, Steve Forbes and Eugene Ofori doing the damage with the goals.

Forbes was on target a year later in a 1-1 draw with Aylesbury United at Claremont Road, this on the day that HMS Scylla, a decommissioned Royal Naval frigate, was sunk to create an artificial reef off the coast of Cornwall. Three years later a visit to Staines Town ended in an impressive 3-1 win thanks to goals from James Parker, Darragh Duffy and Belal Aite-Ouakrim.

A 2010 visit to Gander Green Lane saw Sutton United canter to a 3-1 win, Jamie Busby on target for the Greens and in 2012 a Carl McCluskey goal moved Gary McCann’s side above their opponents, Cray Wanderers, and into the play-off places, this after Rikki Banks had earlier saved a penalty.

We end in 2014 and an impressive bounceback from the 6-1 shelling at East Thurrock United as Leon Smith continues his impressive goalscoring start to life at Hendon with the only goal of the game at Earlsmead against Bury Town.

Of these 23 matches, there have been 10 wins, 5 draws and 7 defeats with a single result unknown. 33 goals have been scored and 24 conceded.