Season 1997-98
After helping the club avoid relegation in 1996/97, Brian Talbot was confirmed as Head Coach in time for the 1997/98 campaign.
The influx of new players such as Adrian Foster and Paul Underwood gave optimism for 1997/98 but this was soon tempered with only one point being gained from the first four matches. Defeats at the first stages of both the Spalding and FA Cups followed before replacements were introduced such as Darren Bradshaw and Mark Smith. This led to a successful run which elevated the side to 2nd place. However, the legacy of the poor start to the season and eventual lack of cover for injuries and suspensions brought an eventual fourth place finish behind Halifax Town. Darren Collins was once again the top scorer for the club, with 29 league goals.
The game at home to Gateshead on 30th August 1997 was the 300th in the Diamonds History – see here for a reflection on that milestone.
See below for a match summary as well as links to match reports. The final league table for the season can be seen here.
See here for a detailed summary of all the games during the season, including team-line up for each game and match timings.
| Date | V | Lge | Opponent | Result | Scorers | Att |
| Sat 16/08/97 | H | Conf | Northwich Vic | Lost 0-1 | – | 2302 |
| Wed 20/08/97 | A | Conf | Farnborough Tn | Lost 0-2 | – | 905 |
| Sat 23/08/97 | A | Conf | Leek Town | Lost 0-2 | – | 809 |
| Mon 25/08/97 | H | Conf | Hednesford Town | Drew 1-1 | Collins | 2468 |
| Sat 30/08/97 | H | Conf | Gateshead | Won 3-2 | Mison, Ndah, Collins | 2211 |
| Tue 02/09/97 | A | Conf | Slough Town | Won 2-1 | Collins, Mison | 872 |
| Sat 06/09/97 | A | Conf | Cheltenham Town | Lost 0-2 | – | 1612 |
| Sat 13/09/97 | H | Conf | Farnborough Tn | Drew 5-5 | Foster/4, Underwood (V) | 2051 |
| Sat 20/09/97 | A | Conf | Yeovil Town | Won 2-1 | Collins, Hackett | 2317 |
| Sat 27/09/97 | A | Conf | Southport | Lost 2-3 | Foster, Rawle | 1116 |
| Sat 04/10/97 | H | Conf | Woking | Won 2-1 | Mison, Foster | 2837 |
| Tue 07/10/97 | A | SC1 | Hayes | Lost 0-2 | – | 438 |
| Sat 11/10/97 | H | Conf | Hereford Utd | Won 1-0 | Collins | 2728 |
| Sat 18/10/97 | A | Conf | Kidderminster H | Won 2-1 | Mison, Cramman | 2210 |
| Sat 25/10/97 | H | FAC4q | Boreham Wood | Drew 1-1 | Butterworth | 2107 |
| Tue 28/10/97 | A | FAC4qr | Boreham Wood | Lost 0-1 AET | – | 704 |
| Sat 01/11/97 | H | Conf | Slough Town | Lost 0-1 | – | 2193 |
| Sat 08/11/97 | A | Conf | Welling Utd | Won 1-0 | Underwood | 833 |
| Sat 15/11/97 | H | Conf | Kidderminster H | Won 4-1 | Barnwell/3, Collins | 2234 |
| Tue 18/11/97 | A | NHSCQF | Brackley Town | Won 3-1 | Collins/3 | 245 |
| Sat 22/11/97 | A | Conf | Morecambe | Lost 1-3 | Capone | 1449 |
| Tue 25/11/97 | H | Conf | Kettering Town | Won 1-0 | Collins | 3866 |
| Sat 29/11/97 | H | Conf | Hayes | Lost 1-3 | og | 2158 |
| Sat 06/12/97 | A | Conf | Northwich Vic | Won 4-2 | og, Capone, Collins/2 | 942 |
| Sat 13/12/97 | H | Conf | Dover Athletic | Won 4-1 | Collins/2, West/2 | 2284 |
| Sat 20/12/97 | A | Conf | Hayes | Won 2-1 | Collins, Hackett | 679 |
| Fri 26/12/97 | H | Conf | Stevenage Boro | Won 2-0 | West, Capone | 3527 |
| Thu 01/01/98 | A | Conf | Stevenage Boro | Lost 1-2 | Collins | 3107 |
| Sat 10/01/98 | H | FAT1 | Farnborough Tn | Won 3-2 | Cramman, Collins/2 | 2164 |
| Sat 17/01/98 | H | Conf | Southport | Won 1-0 | Collins | 2477 |
| Sat 24/01/98 | A | Conf | Dover Athletic | Won 3-0 | Underwood, Alford/2 | 1280 |
| Tue 27/01/98 | H | NHSCSF | Raunds Town | Lost 0-1 | – | 868 |
| Sat 31/01/98 | A | FAT2 | Cheltenham Town | Lost 1-3 | Collins | 2058 |
| Sat 07/02/98 | H | Conf | Halifax Town | Won 4-0 | Collins/2, Butterworth, Underwood (V) | 3675 |
| Sat 14/02/98 | A | Conf | Gateshead | Lost 1-2 | Collins | 616 |
| Sat 21/02/98 | A | Conf | Kettering Town | Won 4-0 | Mison, Underwood, West/2 (V) | 4016 |
| Sat 28/02/98 | H | Conf | Stalybridge Ctc | Won 3-0 | Mison, Collins, Foster | 2470 |
| Sat 07/03/98 | H | Conf | Cheltenham Town | Won 4-1 | Cramman, Collins, Foster, Cooper | 3857 |
| Sat 14/03/98 | A | Conf | Woking | Won 2-0 | Mison, Foster | 3930 |
| Sat 21/03/98 | A | Conf | Halifax Town | Lost 0-2 | – | 3951 |
| Mon 23/03/98 | A | Conf | Hednesford Town | Won 1-0 | Hamsher | 1342 |
| Sat 28/03/98 | H | Conf | Morecambe | Drew 3-3 | Collins/2, Underwood | 2758 |
| Sat 04/04/98 | A | Conf | Telford Utd | Lost 2-4 | Collins, Cooper | 856 |
| Mon 13/04/98 | A | Conf | Stalybridge Ctc | Won 4-2 | Collins/3, Cooper | 952 |
| Sat 18/04/98 | H | Conf | Leek Town | Lost 0-1 | – | 2064 |
| Tue 21/04/98 | H | Conf | Yeovil Town | Drew 2-2 | Collins, Mehew | 1784 |
| Sat 25/04/98 | A | Conf | Hereford Utd | Drew 1-1 | Collins | 3055 |
| Tue 28/04/98 | H | Conf | Welling Utd | Lost 0-1 | – | 1459 |
| Sat 02/05/98 | H | Conf | Telford Utd | Won 3-2 | Collins/2, West | 2197 |
Note – those games with a (P) in the scorers column will have match photos in the report, and those with a (V) will have a link to video highlights of the game.
rdfc1992 