Good Game: The series looking at the amazing, utterly memorable, unbelievably dramatic and downright ludicrous games that involved Stevenage Borough over the years. But we’ll insist that we accept no blame for memories warped by time, age or alcohol consumption at the time. We’ll never refer to any games involving Macclesfield Town either – particularly any at Broadhall Way. Those sort of things never happened, dontcha know…
Stevenage Borough 2-0 Watford
Broadhall Way, Stevenage — 14 April 1986 — Herts Senior Cup Semi-Final
In the mid-1990s, Boro’ started to build a reputation as a cupset specialist; something that carried on into the 2000s and even as recent as this year (2023). Long before our incredible FA Cup win at Villa Park, we were bloodying the noses of bigger boys. Newcastle or Swindon Town, for example. While relatively fresh to the GM Vauxhall Conference, we had Cambridge United and Leyton Orient too. But was that where our cup credentials were established?
No.
Not in our view, anyway.
There’s one cup win that could easily sneak under the radar – not least among the younger fans of the club. It came a good decade before matchday announcer Andy Green welcomed fans to Broadhall Way for our ‘home’ FA Cup Round Three clash at Birmingham’s St Andrews. And it came in a competition that (nowadays) has more of a cult classic appeal to it. This is the story of our Herts Senior Cup Semi-Final win at the expense of top-flight Watford.
The background
Now, at this point in time, Boro’ were in the Vauxhall Opel League Division Two North. We’d just gone into our second campaign at that level; joining the competition a year previously after earning our stripes (fnar!) in the United Counties League. And, to be fair, we were only nine years old as a club too. As such, we were poles apart from our esteemed opponents in this one. The gap, we think, was eight divisions from First Division to our humble league.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Hornets, meanwhile, were enjoying a solid stint in the top flight. Promoted in 1982, the club would end their debut campaign in Division One as the second best club in England – albeit far behind champions Liverpool. The next two seasons saw them end up in 11th when all was said and done. And the 1985-6 season was shaping up in much the same fashion. It was also a season in which they’d had also made it through to the FA Cup Quarter-Finals.
So, a formidable opponent – irrespective of the importance of the Herts Senior Cup today.
Stevenage Borough 2-0 Watford: The rundown
Boro’ were on a good run of form going into this clash. We hadn’t lost a league match since New Year’s Day. Our exit from the FA Vase at the hands of Southall in late February was our biggest disappointment of 1986 to that point. We’d also crashed out of the Eastern Floodlit League, but meh. The Herts Senior Cup was our last shot at cup success if we wanted it. Not that it was imperative given our promising fortunes in the league.
A “great game” is the understated way that boss Frank Cornwell described our performance against the Hornets. Indeed, Boro’ put in a fine shift and matched their stronger opposition on the night. Let’s also be clear that Watford hardly sent out a mix of youths and stiffs to do the job. This was a side dotted with First Division players and the expectation was that we’d gallantly bow out as the south Hertfordshire side marched into the final.
In front of a bumper 1,400 crowd, however, those expectations were made a mockery of. We took the lead thanks to early Boro’ icon Danny Dance, before Phil Driver added a second. It was enough to take us through to the final and leave the Hornets stunned. “Probably one of the best games seen here at Broadhall Way in a long time,” commented Cornwell, “matched by one of the best crowds”. It certainly set Boro’ up for their title run-in that season too.
It’s also worth noting that it was the first time Boro’ had ever played a Football League side.
Stevenage Borough 2-0 Watford: What happened next?
As far as the Herts Senior Cup is concerned, Boro’ turned out against Barnet in the final. The showpiece event was the first time we’d met the Bees in a competitive fixture. Alas, it wasn’t possible to repeat our Hornets heroics; Barnet running out winners by four goals to nil. Now, it’s obviously a disappointment in any terms. But Boro’ had already wrapped up the Vauxhall Opel League Division Two North title by this point – and secured that prized promotion.
For Watford, they landed in 12th position in Division One come the end of the season. There was a slight uptick for ’em the following season; finishing 9th and reaching the FA Cup Semi-Finals. But their stay in the top flight was nearing an end. Despite getting through to the FA Cup Quarter-Finals in 1987-8, ending the campaign in 20th meant relegation back to Division Two for the first time since 1982. It was also a season in which Boro’ were relegated. Snap.
In conclusion….
Unlike their rivals Luton Town, the Hornets didn’t have a complete meltdown and end up in non-league football after dropping out of the top flight. They would, however, have a hiatus that lasted until 1999. And, even then, they only managed one season in the Premier League.
Call it revenge if you like, but Watford did avenge that Herts Senior Cup defeat in December 1988; edging out Boro’ by a single goal at Broadhall Way in the same competition – albeit at an earlier stage.
Boro’ would end up meeting the Hornets and the Bees several times over the coming years by virtue of the Herts Senior Cup. We say the Bees because they’d too become members of the Football League in the 1990s. It wasn’t until the 1995-6 FA Cup First Round when we met League opposition in something a little grander. We lost that season, but the 1996-7 season would start a little run of Boro’ making themselves known for their cup exploits.
And, for us, the legacy of that traces its way back to mid-April 1986.