Hot on the heels of the 27-match marathon yesterday we ease up a little with only 25-matches forming today’s review of the action to have taken place on 16th April over the years.

A day of ‘what might have been’ began well enough in 1921 on the day that Peter Ustinov was born, Hampstead Town won 5-2 against Kingstonian in the Athenian League. Stan Briscoe was the man on form with a hat-trick that was aided by Cecil Wise and F Packham with a goal apiece. Four years later in 1925 a home game with Barnet ended 0-0.

In 1927, on the day that Pop Benedict XVI was born, Hampstead lost 3-2 to Barking Town, the same scoreline by which the same opposition had beaten them the day before, this time in East London rather than Claremont Road. Just a year later Hampstead must have been sick of the sight of this opposition as another visit to East London ended in defeat, this time 5-0.

There was mild improvement in 1932 as Hayes only managed their four in a 4-0 win in the Athenian League ahead of a 1938 3-0 win at Claremont Road over Enfield in the same competition. Billy Breagan, Dave Walker and Brian Sexton scored the goals on the day that Great Britain recognised the Italian annexation of Abyssinia.

Enfield were beaten again in 1954 as Peter Terry grabbed the only goal of the game in a 1-0 win at Southbury Road a year before the club made their second competitive visit to Wembley Stadium.
1955 and the great Bishop Auckland awaited under the Twin Towers where the 100,000 crowd were treated to an entertaining affair that saw the North-Eastern side net in each half to secure a 2-0 win and leave the Greens searching or their first success in the amateur game’s premier cup competition.

With the 1960 Amateur Cup final looming a week later, the Greens rested their first-team squad and saw a second string comfortably defeated 2-0 by Hitchin Town at Top Field, this on the day that Rafa Benitez and Pierre Littbarski were born. Three years later on the day that Pakistani batsman Saleem Malik and American heart-throb Jimmy Osmond were born a London Charity Cup visit to Ilford ended in chastening fashion, going down 3-0.

In 1966 the Greens returned to Wembley once again for their fourth Amateur Cup Final, this time against local rivals Wealdstone. Geoff Riddy grabbed a goal for the Greens but the Stones, skippered by John Ashworth who would join Hendon in the summer of 1966, netted three of their own, two courtesy of another future Hendon hero, Bobby Childs, in front of 45,000 supporters.

There was an 11-year break before the next match on 16th April, that being a 1977 Isthmian League match with Woking that saw Tony Field score in a 1-1 draw, Freddie Ljungberg the latest member of the footballing fraternity to have been born on the same day and two years later in 1979 goals from Roy Butler and Graham Stewart secured the points in a 2-1 win over Walthamstow Avenue.

The first three fixtures in the 1980s failed to produce a Hendon goal, this in spite of players of the calibre of Gary Allen, George Duck, Iain Dowie and Colin Tate leading the line for the Greens. A 1983 0-0 draw with Dulwich Hamlet was followed up in 1985 by a 2-0 defeat at home to Wycombe Wanderers and then two years later in 1987 by a comprehensive 3-0 defeat at Harrow Borough, this last match being on the day that Aaron Lennon was born.

A year after the Earlsmead defeat the Greens returned to winning ways with a 3-2 win over Farnborough Town at Cherrywood Road. Andy Smith, Iain Dowie and Toni Meadows, with his sole first-team goal, completed the scoring. Three years later in 1991 the Greens were well and truly humbled at Southbury Road as Enfield strolled to a 4-0 win, this on the day that visionary film director Sir David Lean passed away at the age of 83 in Limehouse East London.

In 1994 a warm-up for the forthcoming Full Members Cup final against Wokingham Town in Berkshire went the way of the Greens, Duncan Hardy and Steve Heffer scoring in the 2-0 win, this on the day that US novelist Ralph Waldo Ellison passed away. 7-years later as the run-in to end all run-ins really got into gear in 2001, goals from Bontcho Guentchev and Dale Binns saw Frank Murphy’s men to a 2-0 win over Hampton & Richmond Borough at Claremont Road.

A year later and Ricci Crace was on target twice along with one from Martin Randall as Braintree Town were despatched 3-0 at Claremont Road by Dave Anderson’s men. Then, in 2005, a visit to Worthing on a balmy spring afternoon on the south coast ended 0-0 in spite of Marvyn Watson hitting the woodwork in the second half.

It was back to Claremont Road in 2007 as a Wayne O’Sullivan goal grabbed a 1-1 draw against Staines Town and four years later in front of more Manchester City fans than Hendon or Horsham supporters, the sky-blues were using the bar at Vale Farm before their FA Cup semi-final just down the road, James Burgess was dismissed as an abject Hendon performance was soundly punished by the relegation threatened mid-Sussex side who returned south with a 3-0 win in their back pockets.

We finish today’s round-up in 2013 on the day that 37 people were killed by an earthquake in Iran and 16 people were killed in Ghana after the collapse of a goldmine in Kyekyewere. Hastings United came to Vale Farm and three days after being beaten in East Sussex they went down 2-0 and saw three players sent-off as well as player-manager Sean Ray. Lee O’Leary and substitute Isaiah Rankin scored the Hendon goals.

Of 25 matches to have been played on 16th April, nine have been won with five draws and 11 defeats, including those two Amateur Cup finals. 28 goals have been scored and 41 conceded.