[Devongone]

Matlock lost 2-1 to Scarborough and Buxton manager resigned due to it being too far to travel from where he lives/works.

Matlock's defeat was Scarborough's revenge for Matlock's biggest success. In 1974-5 Matlock won the FA Trophy beating Scarborough 4-0 in the final. Matlock had a seriously good team with all three Fenoughty brothers, including Tom, Peter Swan as player manager, his son Carl as reserve and a host of locally well-known players including a winger called Colin Oxley, with the reputation of being very quick and elusive.

Anyway Colin Oxley scored Matlock's first, so will never be forgotten by that club. Like many part-time pros he also turned out in the increasingly popular and very competitive Sunday League. His team, Queens Hotel Mosborough had been asked to leave a Sheffield League basically because they hadn't lost for two seasons and Sheffielders weren't keen on travelling out of town to get beat by a classy team on a very shitty pitch. So they came into the Chesterfield Sunday League. And my team, The Magpies, were the first (and only ones) to beat them that season. We didn't lose to any of the three teams who finished above us! Anyway due to defensive excellence, our very clever centre forward and 100% commitment we beat them 2-1 at our ground. Their only goal came 10 minutes into the second half from a penalty taken by Matlock hero Colin Oxley. And it was a terrible penalty. He looked one way, kicked the other. I knew he was a star player so I thought that it was a double bluff and went the wrong way. Even though we'd won and I'd been one of many who had played at our best I was in a rage over falling for it and swore he'd never score like that against me again.

Sure enough at their place they came at us big-time and we were holding on. After perhaps 20 minutes of constant pressure a ball struck the hand of one of our players, Terry Needham. It very obviously wasn't deliberate and Terry who had the most lovely deep auburn Titian red hair also had a temper to match when roused, and the ref' gave the penalty. Terry went mad at him, the ref' booked him, Terry didn't stop, he was clearly going to get sent off, so I rushed out of my goal. I would only have been 22, years younger than Terry. I grabbed him, started dragging him away, shouting that I'd stop the penalty! Terry was so surprised he let himself be dragged away. Colin Oxley took the penalty. Same again. I went the right way this time and saved it easily. Our team was jubilant. Again we got 2-1 up and that was such big news that everyone came out of the nearby working men's club to watch. The Queens just never lost at home. To be fair they put us under enormous pressure, but we held out. I made the best save of my life, but the whole team (with no part-time pros) was at its peak.........

Sadly it didn't have a happy ending. I told you it was a crappy pitch. Anyway five minutes from the end following yet another scramble one of their players blasted a shot from the edge of the area. One of our lads threw himself in the way and the ball looped up, spinning wildly. I was off my line narrowing the angle, but I was pretty sure I could get it out from the under the bar, but I reckoned without the pitch. There was a hollow on the goal line and just in front of it. As I was taking off backwards, my foot went down it and so my usual spring was already sprung. Instead of palming the ball up and over I merely touched it on its way into the goal. 2-2. Our most brilliant and heroic performance, and we didn't win.

Lovely Terry died in his mid-forties. Our two full backs had no trouble with Colin Oxley (who was a good player). Pete Stevenson, who was deputy Town Clerk, was heroically enthusiastic, he really never did know when he was beaten and Dave Branson was the classiest full back ever, how he didn't play full-time pro' I'll never know, I only ever once saw him struggle and that's a different ludicrous story. I still go back under that ball now. If I'd taken off one step earlier I had enough spring to save it. I know I wasn't to blame, and nearly 50 years on I still blame myself. Whatever commentators tell you, goalies always think there is a way they could have stopped that goal. We're the Catchers in the Rye, too late to tell old JD Salinger.