What is the longest gap between two meetings of the same football teams?
Feb 20, 2019 11:15:47 GMT
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Post by Carl LaFong on Feb 20, 2019 11:15:47 GMT
www.theguardian.com/football/2019/feb/20/what-is-the-longest-gap-between-two-fixtures-of-the-same-football-teams-the-knowledge
“When Newport played Manchester City in the FA Cup, it was the first time that the fixture had been played for more than 56 years,” writes Mark Meadowcroft. “The last match, on 24 October 1962 (2-1 to City at Maine Road in the League Cup) was at the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis and the week after Love Me Do first charted. Is there a longer gap between two meetings of the same opponents?”
Yes there is, Mark. Our first suggestion comes from Simon Cook: “Arsenal played Brentford on 26 September 2018 in the League Cup, 71 years after their last meeting on 26 May 1947.”
But that can be topped. “As the oldest club in England still playing, Notts County have seen some opponents very infrequently,” writes Alex Lyon. “A quick look shows the longest gap between two matches is 109 years, with Kettering Town the opponents – the clubs have twice been drawn together in the FA Cup. The first match on 28 January 1899 was won by Notts County, but when they met again on 30 November 2008, the match was a draw and Kettering won the replay.”
But that can be topped. “Even if you doubled Newport v City it wouldn’t beat the gap between fixtures for Chorley and Stockport County,” declared Gary Fairclough. “Before Stockport’s 3-0 league defeat to Chorley in November 2014 the two sides had not played each other competitively for 114 years. Their last meeting was in 1900; Britain was in turmoil over the second Boer War and across Europe new football teams were taking their first steps in the game with strange names like Ajax, Lazio and Bayern Munich. They probably never amounted to much.”
But that can be topped. Here’s Michael Knaggs: “My best guess is on 24 August 2016, Accrington beat Burnley 1-0 in the EFL Cup. It was their first competitive meeting since 1893, 123 years prior, when Victoria had eight years to go as Queen of the empire, Dvorák’s New World Symphony premièred and Arthur Conan Doyle revealed that Sherlock Homes had died. If anyone can beat that, I tip my hat to them.”
“When Newport played Manchester City in the FA Cup, it was the first time that the fixture had been played for more than 56 years,” writes Mark Meadowcroft. “The last match, on 24 October 1962 (2-1 to City at Maine Road in the League Cup) was at the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis and the week after Love Me Do first charted. Is there a longer gap between two meetings of the same opponents?”
Yes there is, Mark. Our first suggestion comes from Simon Cook: “Arsenal played Brentford on 26 September 2018 in the League Cup, 71 years after their last meeting on 26 May 1947.”
But that can be topped. “As the oldest club in England still playing, Notts County have seen some opponents very infrequently,” writes Alex Lyon. “A quick look shows the longest gap between two matches is 109 years, with Kettering Town the opponents – the clubs have twice been drawn together in the FA Cup. The first match on 28 January 1899 was won by Notts County, but when they met again on 30 November 2008, the match was a draw and Kettering won the replay.”
But that can be topped. “Even if you doubled Newport v City it wouldn’t beat the gap between fixtures for Chorley and Stockport County,” declared Gary Fairclough. “Before Stockport’s 3-0 league defeat to Chorley in November 2014 the two sides had not played each other competitively for 114 years. Their last meeting was in 1900; Britain was in turmoil over the second Boer War and across Europe new football teams were taking their first steps in the game with strange names like Ajax, Lazio and Bayern Munich. They probably never amounted to much.”
But that can be topped. Here’s Michael Knaggs: “My best guess is on 24 August 2016, Accrington beat Burnley 1-0 in the EFL Cup. It was their first competitive meeting since 1893, 123 years prior, when Victoria had eight years to go as Queen of the empire, Dvorák’s New World Symphony premièred and Arthur Conan Doyle revealed that Sherlock Homes had died. If anyone can beat that, I tip my hat to them.”
