Today I'm going back 29 years to 1993 and York City's away fixture in League Division 3 (the 4th tier of English football) to Colchester United played at Layer Road in front of 4,528 spectators.
Friday night football. Don't you just love it? Well actually no. Over the years, one or two Football League sides have elected to play their match on a Friday evening as opposed to the traditional Saturday 3PM slot. This was back in the days before TV money became God and the scheduling of matches became the plaything of the TV companies who would choose the day and time of a fixture in order to maximise the number of viewers aa well as advertising revenue, irrespective of the inconvenience to paying supporters attending the game concerned. In the case of the likes of Colchester United, Tranmere Rovers and Southend United, all of whom often chose Friday night football in preference to a Saturday afternoon, the intent seems to have been to avoid a fixture clash with bigger clubs in the area. That said, I think that Colchester's fixture clash would have been with either Ipswich Town or West Ham United so maybe their decision was more about attracting punters who would otherwise spend their Saturday afternoon at the High Street shops? Irrespective, for York City supporters, a Friday night away game in Colchester was supremely inconvenient albeit that it did offer us the opportunity to stay overnight and squeeze in another game the next day in London or en route back to York. In this instance, our Saturday afternoon wasn't spent in York but, instead, in York Street watching Boston United in the GM Vauxhall Conference (or National League Premier as it is now known).
Remember that Season 1992/3 saw the birth of the new-fangled Premier League. As a result, Divisions 2, 3 and 4 of the old Football League overnight became Divisions 1,2 and 3 respectively which is how Colchester came to be playing York in Division 3 and not 4. Nonetheless it was the fourth tier of English football irrespective of whatever brand you care to label it with. That season was a glorious one for York and the point earned from the goalless draw with Colchester was one of the 75 earned during the regular season that gave City a Play-Off berth which they used to gain promotion. Colchester, newly promoted back into the Football League following a season out in Non-League, finished in a respectable 10th position. Champions that season were Cardiff City, promoted along with Wrexham and Barnet, as well as York of course. Halifax ended the season in the only relegation slot following the demise of Maidstone United during the season.
CRB Match No. 811
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