4 – 2003 Oxford United (H) 0-1
After the excitement of the play-off final, 2003 started with a whimper. Oxford were a fancied team, but we had Yeo, a freshly crowned goal machine. We didn’t have some other big components, though, and Rory May played in this one.
If things couldn’t get worse, Yeo was sent off in the first half, and Ian Atkins’ side got their big win. I remember Andy Crosby coming off the field and trying to start an argument with Andy Townsend and I, asking ‘how do you watch that shit every week?’.
We finished seventh, and they ended up ninth. Vindicated.
3 – 2001 Halifax Town (H) 1-2
We knew 2001/02 wasn’t going to be great. We’d struggled the season before, we had a bloody awful kit again, and we were skint. Administration was coming along the tracks, but the opening day is all about hope, isn’t it? Getting Halifax, who finished second bottom the season before, was a massive boost. Winnable, and a chance to get off to a good start.
It didn’t turn out that way. They bagged twice in a minute to take a 2-0 lead, and despite Lee Thorpe pulling one back, we were beaten. They ended up bottom with just 36 points. We finished 22nd, ten points clear of them but still nervously looking over our shoulder all season.
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