CLUBS SCORING 10 OR MORE IN A LEAGUE MATCH......


The highest score in a Football League match is 13 and that has been achieved three times.

The first was on Saturday 6th January 1934  when Stockport County beat Halifax Town 13-0 in a Third Division (North) fixture. It proved to be a disastrous League debut for the Halifax goalkeeper Stanley Milton, although he did keep the score down to 2-0 at half-time! 

On Christmas Day 1935 Oldham Athletic beat Tranmere Rovers 4-1 in a Third Division (North) fixture. On Boxing Day the two met again in the return fixture at Prenton Park and this time Tranmere got the better of their rivals - they won 13-4! The 17 goals is still a record aggregate score for a League match and the 9 goals Robert 'Bunny' Bell scored for the home side - and he missed a penalty - was also a new record although that one only lasted a few months.

On Saturday 5th October 1946 Newcastle United became the third and last side to score 13 in a League match when defeating Newport County 13-0 in a Second Division fixture. It proved a perfect debut for Len Shackleton, the 'Clown Prince of Soccer', following his £13,000 move from Bradford Park Avenue to St James' Park. He scored six of the goals, including a hat-trick in just two and a half minutes.

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'Bunny' Bell's record of scoring 9 League goals in a match lasted only until Monday April 13th 1936 when Luton Town's Joe Payne scored 10 in the Hatters' 12-0 victory over Bristol Rovers in a Third Division (South) match.

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Fulham played Ipswich Town twice over the Christmas period in 1963 - at Craven Cottage on Boxing Day with the return at Portman Road on Saturday 28th December. The programme notes in the second match at Ipswich stated - 'I can only hope that Ipswich kept up the good work against Fulham at Craven Cottage on Boxing Day. I am afraid that these notes had to be completed long before the result of that match was known so I can only keep my fingers crossed.' Nope, that didn't work, Fulham had won that first match 10-1 which was the last time that a club had scored double figures in the top flight.

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Burslem Port Vale became the first  - and still only - club to concede 10 goals at home in a League match when they lost 0-10 to Sheffield United in a Second Division ficture on Saturday December 3rd 1892. They must have had nightmares about playing their next match a week later - this time away to Sheffield United  - but they only lost that one 0-4.

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The record books show that Bournemouth's record League victory was 7-0 v Swindon Town on Saturday September 22nd 1956. However on Saturday September 2nd 1939 they did beat Northampton Town 10-0 in a Football League Third Division (South) fixture. However the next day war was declared on Germany and the few League matches that had been played in 1939/40 were declared void and expunged from the record books. Various reasons were offered for Northampton's heavy defeat. Unusually alcohol had been permitted on the rail journey, that 'ringers' had been fielded and simply that the Cobblers had not bothered because war was inevitable. The facts were though that on a quagmire of a pitch every Bournemouth shot seemed to result in a goal with the sixth goal being such a powerful shot not only did it burst through the net but injured a spectator behind the goal.

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Another club to lose what would still be a record score is Manchester United. Back in the days when they were Newton Heath their Bank Street pitch was far from the bowling-green surface they now enjoy at the Theatre of Dreams. In fact is was usually no more than mud and sand with the occasional tuft of grass! When Walsall Town Swifts arrived for a Second Division fixture on Saturday March 9th 1895 they immediately objected to the state of the pitch. Another layer of sand was added before kick off and the match was played under protest - with Newton Heath winning 14-0. However Walsall's protest was upheld by the Football League and the match was declared void and ordered to be replayed so the 14-0 scoreline ended up in the history books rather than the record books. The re-arranged match was played on Wednesday April 3rd 1895...with the Heathens only managing a 9-0 win that time!

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A Football League investigation into the reasons behind Leicester Fosse's (now Leicester City) poor showing in their 12-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest in April 1909 found that the Leicester players had been celebrating the marriage of a team-mate for 2 days prior to the match! Full story.

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When Chesterfield visited Gillingham for a Division 3 fixture on Saturday 5th September 1987 they were hoping to maintain their excellent start to the season which had seen them not conceding a League goal in their first four matches. Gillingham, on the other hand, had recorded their second highest League score in their previous League match at the Priestfield Stadium, an 8-1 victory over Southend United. In the Gills Chat programme notes for the Chesterfield match they wrote....'you begin to wonder if the club has exhausted its quota of thrills for the season.' No, Gillingham beat Chesterfield 10-0.

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The last time that a club scored double figures in the League was on Saturday 7th November 1987 when Manchester City defeated Huddersfield Town 10-1 in a Second Division match. Paul Stewart, Tony Adcock and David White each scored hat-tricks for the home side. Former England international Malcolm Macdonald had only been appointed manager of Huddersfield the previous month. Things didn't get much better for him with Huddersfield finishing the season in a distant bottom place and Macdonald ending his managerial career at the same time.

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North of the border Dundee only played two Scottish League matches in March 1947 - winning 10-0 away to Alloa Athletic on Saturday March 8th 1947 and in their next match they beat Dunfermline Athletic 10-0 at home on Saturday March 22nd.

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