Stevenage: 1981-2 Season Details
After winning promotion from Division One, Boro’ took up their position in the United Counties League Premier Division for the 1981-2 campaign. It was an eye-opener, however. For Boro’, there was to be no level of dominance they’d achieved in the lower level. Form was often patchy, if not erratic – and Derek Montgomery‘s men struggled for consistency. For the likes of Danny Dance who had been so fluent in front of goal during our Div One campaign, the defences we came up against were often a lot meaner.
Boro’ made it to the Eastern Floodlit Cup semi-finals, but were outclassed by Chelmsford City over two legs. Meanwhile, hopes of retaining the United Counties League Cup were scuppered by Irchester Eastfield on penalties in the quarter finals. And there was also a semi-final appearance in the East Anglian Cup – only for Hertford Town to cruise to a 4-1 victory. All in all, it was a tough season but an important learning curve for a growing club.
Full 1981-2 Details:
Most Appearances: Martyn Thompson - 49
Top Goalscorer: Danny Dance – 13
1981-2 Boro' Rollcall
| Name | Pld | Gls | YC | RC | US |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keith Allinson | 2 (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Martin Allinson | 40 (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Terry Broom | 29 (0) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Steve Butler | 3 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Graham Cox | 16 (0) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jimmy Daintree | 16 (1) | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Danny Dance | 27 (0) | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mitch Dee | 25 (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peter Gittings | 40 (0) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Martin Gittings | 16 (5) | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Micky Herring | 31 (0) | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Andy Hughes | 18 (4) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| John Huxtable | 6 (0) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lee Jacobs | 11 (1) | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Paul Johnson | 8 (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| John Johnson | 7 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Tim Jolly | 27 (0) | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Ronnie Lawson | 5 (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Trevor Metcalfe | 31 (1) | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Derek Montgomery | 3 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Terry O'Neill | 6 (0) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ashley Palmer | 4 (0) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Paul Peterson | 9 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Derrick Remington | 2 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Steve Rowlands | 1 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Martyn Thompson | 49 (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Malcolm Ward | 16 (0) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jose Whishaw | 17 (0) | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Ray Wilcox | 5 (1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Key:
- Apps = Appearances (Substitute Appearances)
- Gls = Goals Scored
- YC = Yellow Cards
- RC = Red Cards
- US = Unused Subs
1981-2 United Counties League Premier Division Table
| Pl | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stamford | 36 | 25 | 5 | 6 | 71 | 28 | 43 | 55 |
| 2 | Irthlingborough Diamonds | 36 | 23 | 8 | 5 | 73 | 34 | 39 | 54 |
| 3 | Rushden Town | 36 | 19 | 7 | 10 | 61 | 32 | 29 | 45 |
| 4 | Buckingham Town | 36 | 19 | 7 | 10 | 63 | 43 | 20 | 45 |
| 5 | Bourne Town | 36 | 18 | 7 | 11 | 64 | 44 | 20 | 43 |
| 6 | Potton United | 36 | 15 | 11 | 10 | 41 | 30 | 11 | 41 |
| 7 | Ampthill Town | 36 | 14 | 11 | 11 | 73 | 67 | 6 | 39 |
| 8 | Long Buckby | 36 | 14 | 10 | 12 | 57 | 60 | -3 | 38 |
| 9 | Holbeach United | 36 | 14 | 9 | 13 | 53 | 46 | 7 | 37 |
| 10 | Wootton Blue Cross | 36 | 14 | 9 | 13 | 51 | 58 | -7 | 37 |
| 11 | Kempston Rovers | 36 | 13 | 10 | 13 | 63 | 62 | 1 | 36 |
| 12 | Stevenage Borough | 36 | 12 | 9 | 15 | 50 | 49 | 1 | 33 |
| 13 | Desborough Town | 36 | 10 | 13 | 13 | 47 | 55 | -8 | 33 |
| 14 | S&L Corby | 36 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 46 | 57 | -11 | 32 |
| 15 | Rothwell Town | 36 | 12 | 6 | 18 | 58 | 60 | -2 | 32 |
| 16 | British Timken Duston | 36 | 11 | 8 | 17 | 46 | 67 | -21 | 30 |
| 17 | Eynesbury Rovers | 36 | 8 | 9 | 19 | 35 | 58 | -23 | 25 |
| 18 | Wolverton Town | 36 | 8 | 4 | 24 | 36 | 78 | -42 | 20 * |
| 19 | St Neots Town | 36 | 2 | 7 | 27 | 25 | 91 | -66 | 11 |
* Wolverton Town left United Counties League in 1982