Town’s pivotal days on Warnock’s watch
TOWN were in a sixth season of struggle in the third tier of English football.
Home crowds were frequently around the 5,000 mark at a dilapidated but much-loved Leeds Road ground and a manager called Neil Warnock was not finding it easy to lift Town away from the relegation zone.
Turn the clock back 25 years, however, and you come to the week when everything changed – for good.
On March 1, 1994, Town made the short journey over the hills to Stockport County.
It was for an Autoglass Trophy northern semi-final, which the home side were confidently expected to win.
After all, they were riding high in the league table, eventually finishing fourth, and only 10 days earlier had hammered Town 3-0 on the same Edgeley Park pitch.
A crowd of 4,980 turned up to watch Stockport take their place in the next stage of the competition, only to be stunned as Town turned in a stunning show to win 1-0 with a goal from fans’ favourite Iain Dunn.
Four days later, on March 5, Warnock took his still buoyant side on the long trip down to Exeter City, where they had the task of trying to end a run of six league matches without a win. Dunn scored again and, with a double from midfielder Darren Bullock – signed in the December from Nuneaton Borough – Town chalked a 3-2 victory to enhance hopes of avoiding the drop. Then, only three days later on a memorable night under the Leeds Road lights, Warnock’s side faced Carlisle United in the first leg of the Autoglass northern final.
Knowing a win over the two legs would send Town to Wembley for the first time in 56 years – and for the first time in the lifetime of many supporters – a crowd of 10,552 turned up to cheer them on.
Town had faltered on big occasions previously and there was a nervous edge to the build-up, but supporters need not have worried as Dunn scored for the third successive match, Bullock notched again and, with goals from Peter Jackson and Phil Starbuck to add, Town triumphed superbly with a 4-1 scoreline.
Three wins in eight days had reminded everyone that Town could be winners, something which hadn’t really been felt since the departure of Mick Buxton as manager almost a decade before. They went on to Wembley, of course, and even though they lost the final to Swansea City in a penalty shoot-out, it was a wonderful dress rehearsal for what was to follow. Town did not lose any of their final 12 league games to finish 11th, won on their final ever appearance at Leeds Road before moving to the stadium, and boss Warnock maintained that momentum into a glorious 1994-95 campaign, which finished with promotion being won at Wembley in a 2-1 play-off final success against Bristol Rovers.
Huddersfield-born duo Andy Booth and Chris Billy scored the promotion-winning goals, but the whole journey had started in earnest in that one week in March 1994.