My favourite derby days at Cobblers include great goals, late goals, big wins and a midfielder passing to a steward!

Firstly at their old County Ground, a horrible three-sided football stadium with a cricket outfield attached.

And more recently at Sixfields, a modest new build which opened in 1994 and doesn’t appear to have changed much since.

Until 1989 all my visits were for pleasure rather than work. Here are my five favourite Cobblers v Posh clashes.

1st

April 13, 1974

Cobblers 0, Posh 1

One of the first away trips of my life to watch a Posh team battling for the Fourth Division title take on a Cobblers team who were in with a chance of automatic promotion themselves. The match attracted the biggest County Ground attendance for three years of 11,378 and the atmosphere was better than the action.

Goalkeeper Eric Steele was outstanding for Posh and Bert Murray popped up with an 82nd minute winning goal, one of nine he scored from midfield that season.

The significance of the win for a team who would win the title makes this my favourite Posh trip to our biggest – much bigger than Cambridge United – rivals. It completed a first Posh league double over Cobblers.

Posh: Steele, Carmichael, Lee, Turner, Jones, Lewis, Murray, Hill, Robson, Cozens, Hall. Sub used: Gregory.

2nd

Sat Aug 14, 1999

Cobblers 0, Posh 1

The first league meeting between the clubs for six years and the first Posh trip to Sixfields was settled by a brilliant goal from Simon Davies who let fly and found the top corner of the net from 25 yards. Quite rightly much is made these days of the club’s Academy graduates, but three players from the club’s FA Youth Cup semi-final team from two years previous, Davies,Tony Shields and Matthew Etherington, all started this game.

Cobblers tried to impose themselves physically, but Posh ‘keeper Mark Tyler played well. ‘You won’t see a better goal all season,” Posh boss Fry said about the Davies strike.

Davies and Etherington left Posh for Spurs four months later, but Posh still won promotion from Division Three.

Posh: Tyler, Hooper, Drury, Chapple, Edwards, Shields, Castle, Davies, Etherington, Farrell, Broughton. Sub used: Martin.

3rd

Sat Nov 19, 2016

Cobblers 0, Posh 1.

This was a terrible game, but the sheer drama of Posh midfielder Chris Forrester drifting onto a long ball forward to head past a stranded goalkeeper in the 91st minute made it memorable, if only for the fantastic celebrations in front of the travelling fans. The League One game against Grant McCann’s Posh attracted a Sixfields record attendance of 7,675.

It’s a game also remembered for Posh midfielder Michael Bostwick passing the ball to a hi-viz jacket wearing steward after mistaking him for a teammate!

Posh goalkeeper Luke McGee pulled of a brilliant double-save in the game and Cobblers, who had a couple of strong penalty claims rejected, hit the crossbar a minute before Forrester scored.

Posh: McGee, Smith, Hughes, Baldwin, Tafazolli, Bostwick, Forrester, Da Silva Lopes, Nichols, Coulthirst, Maddison. Subs used: Edwards, Angol, Taylor.

4th

Sep 22, 1990

Cobblers 1, Posh 2.

Posh signed Leicester City striker Kevin Russell on loan two weeks before this early-season derby and he proved to be an instant hit, just as he did when returning to London Road almost 20 years later as assistant manager to Darren Ferguson.

Russell had opened his Posh scoring account a week before against Halifax and followed it up at the County Ground to put Mark Lawrenson’s side in front after 25 minutes. Former Cobbler Paul Culpin made it 2-0 two minutes later and Posh survived constant second-half pressure until their future player Bobby Barnes scored in the 89th minute.

Posh went to win promotion from Division Four, but only after Chris Turner had become manager in January, 1991.

Posh: Dearden, Luke, Butterworth, Crosby, McElhinney, Halsall, Hine, Sterling, Russell, Culpin, Bremner. Subs used: Osborne, Riley.

5th

Jan 30, 1981

Cobblers 1, Posh 4.

I went to every FA Cup match of a run to the fifth round, apart from the last one against Manchester City as I was needed for a school hockey match!

The first round tie at Cobblers was terrific fun. The home side battered their visitors after Steve Phillips, another who went on to play for Posh, had given them a fifth minute lead, but two goals in 60 seconds from Tommy Robson and Trevor Quow turned the game on its head before half-time.

Posh played well on the break in the second-half with Trevor Slack and Robson adding further goals. Posh went on to beat non-league Barnet, Chesterfield and Second Division leaders Notts County on a memorable afternoon at Meadow Lane, before drawing top-flight City.

Posh: Waugh, McVay, Phillips, Slough, Slack, Gynn, Quow, Hodgson, Kellock, Cooke, Robson.