You have to admit, it was getting more and more difficult to see where our next league win was coming from – nine fixtures and nearly two months had passed us by without the taste of victory. But perhaps Hartlepool United was the game we’d been crying out for throughout that miserable slump, if you think about how healthy our record against the Pools actually is.
Best Boro’ Win Rates
The win at Victoria Park made it seven wins in nine meetings with Hartlepool – a healthy return of 78%. So that has put us in a thinking mood – how does that rank with all those other clubs we’ve crossed paths with over the years? Well, our more-than-decent record against the Pools (as it stands, obviously) is actually a little behind the pace when it comes to our best win rates.
For the sake of being fair in our comparison, we’ve only included the record of teams who we’ve met on at least nine occasions – the same number as our League Two chums. After all, 100% success rates against teams you’ve only played once are not exactly difficult to achieve if you get it right on the night. The same could be said for Bingo sites with Double Bubble slots.
Anyway, here are the top ten Boro’ win rates…
10. Bishop’s Stortford
70% (P10, W7, D0, L3, F22, A12 – League Points: 0)
9. Ware
71% (P21, W15, D2, L4, F47, A20 – League Points: 25)
8. Royston Town
74% (P23, W17, D5, L1, F53, A18 – League Points: 22)
7. Salisbury City
78% (P9, W7, D1, L1, F17, A5 – League Points: 15)
6. Chalfont St Peter
78% (P9, W7, D1, L1, F19, A6 – League Points: 16)
5. Hartlepool United
78% (P9, W7, D2, L0, F14, A4 – League Points: 20)
Nudging their way into the top five, the Pools edge out Salisbury City and Chalfont St Peter for two main reasons in our eyes: 1) Boro’ are yet to lose to the North East club and 2) they’ve given up more league points in our favour than the other two.
4. Leigh RMI
82% (P11, W9, D0, L2, F27, A9 – League Points: 24)
Leigh RMI were broadly useless, with Boro’ pushing their win rate into the eighties here. Yes, we managed to let the guys from Hilton Park nab two wins – but they both came when Wayne Turner was in charge here. So, read into that what you will…
3. Vauxhall Motors (Luton)
89% (P9, W8, D1, L0, F24, A6 – League Points: 22)
It’s back to our Isthmian League days of the 1980s and early 1990s for this one, with Boro’ failing to win just one game against Vauxhall Motors (Luton) – a 2-2 draw at their gaff in 1991, the season the Luton side finished second… to Cloughie’s Stevenage.
2. Wolverton Town
90% (P10, W9, D1, L0, F28, A5 – League Points: 28)
Boro’ owned Wolverton Town to such an extent that we put three or more goals past them on seven out of our ten meetings. A 2-2 draw in September 1984 is the only stain on our record against the Buckinghamshire club; one that was wound up in 1992.
1. Barton Rovers
91% (P11, W10, D1, L0, F26, A4 – League Points: 28)
One of our local neighbours they may be, but Barton Rovers top Boro’s list of win rates convincingly – going down on no fewer than 10 occasions. And, even though we last met in March 1991, they’ve failed to score against us since November 1988 either.
And there you have it. It is, however, true that no Football League club comes close when it comes to Boro’s best win rates. You have to go another four or five clubs down the list before the likes of Alty and Kiddy start popping up from the Conference days. You could also say that Boro’s incredible fortune against Hartlepool United has come to our rescue at just the right time too.
