Longest run of consecutive away fixtures

[The Master]

Looking at next month’s fixtures, Dundee are scheduled to have three away games in a row, thanks to Partick Thistle’s Challenge Cup semi-final displacing a home game. Nothing unusual, it’s happened to plenty of teams in the past.

However, it then struck me that it’s currently theoretically possible (if highly improbable) for us to end up with six consecutive away games, depending on what happens in the Scottish Cup:

24/1/20: Dunfermline
28/1/20: Motherwell (possible SC replay)
1/2/20: Morton
8/2/20: Possible SC 5th round tie
22/2/20: Queen of the South
29/2/20: Possible SC QF

Obviously the most likely outcome is that we lose to Motherwell on Saturday then play one of our outstanding home games on 5th round weekend...breaking even the 3-in-a-row sequence.  Equally, the above run would also likely be broken by playing at least one displaced home game in an intervening midweek.

Nevertheless, it did make me wonder what the current record is for consecutive away games?

Edited January 12, 2020 by The Master

[Ray Patterson]

Pretty sure between December and March every season, Fort William end up playing about 8 consecutive away games.

They're on for 5 consecutive away games at the minute in the league.

[HibeeJibee]

There will undoubtedly be many extreme examples 'back-in-the-day' and from non-league.

Only in 2011-12 work on Gala Fairydean's new 3G pitch was finished after Christmas, delayed from mid-autumn.

They basically played 6 months intensively away then 3 months intensively at home, IIRC.

EDIT: Certainly their first home game was January 28th.

Edited January 12, 2020 by HibeeJibee

[BFTD]

1 hour ago, ArabAuslander said:

Pretty sure between December and March every season, Fort William end up playing about 8 consecutive away games.

They're on for 5 consecutive away games at the minute in the league.

Aye, I'm sure I remember one of the Highland League clubs making the UK national news decades ago because they'd been unable to play home games for months, purely because the weather had been so bad. Could well have been Fort William.

Like the winter when one of the early Scottish Cup ties was called off some daft amount of times, which I remember as being thirty-odd, but obviously wasn't judging by this, which claims the record is 33 cancellations. Sure Huntly were involved in the one I remember.

[HibeeJibee]

It's worth saying that in those days your had to try Scottish Cup ties every day of the week (maybe not including Fridays) after a couple of postponements.

So they were racking-up postponements on paper but often no-one was actually expecting a game. You might well know that it would have no chance for the next few days.

There was an epic involving Threave about 10yrs ago that was off Mon & Wed for weeks on end and ultimately ran-over the date of the next round.


Back in 2012-13 Craigroyston had only played 4 of 26 league games come the Christmas break and 5 come the end of January.

Back in 2009-10 Easthouses didn't play between November 7th and January 23rd. Following season Heston were November 20th and February 19th.

Better pitches, astroturf and milder winters seem to have ended these sort of escapades.

Edited January 12, 2020 by HibeeJibee

[RossBFaeDundee]

5 hours ago, The Master said:

However, it then struck me that it’s currently theoretically possible (if highly improbable) for us to end up with six consecutive away games, depending on what happens in the Scottish Cup:

24/1/20: Dunfermline
28/1/20: Motherwell (possible SC replay)
1/2/20: Morton
8/2/20: Possible SC 5th round tie
22/2/20: Queen of the South
29/2/20: Possible SC QF

Watch all of that happen, but the SPFL reschedules the Ayr game somewhere in between.

[craigkillie]

The longest run I can find is 9 in a row for Alloa Athletic between 17th August 1991 and 28th September 1991. Presumably some work was getting done at Recreation Park at this stage, because they didn't play a home league match until October. They had a home tie against Stranraer at in the League Cup on 13th August 1991, which I would guess may have been played somewhere else, but I have no idea where. After that, they played 8 league games and another League Cup tie away from home.

[microdave]

14 hours ago, craigkillie said:

The longest run I can find is 9 in a row for Alloa Athletic between 17th August 1991 and 28th September 1991. Presumably some work was getting done at Recreation Park at this stage, because they didn't play a home league match until October. They had a home tie against Stranraer at in the League Cup on 13th August 1991, which I would guess may have been played somewhere else, but I have no idea where. After that, they played 8 league games and another League Cup tie away from home.

I think it was due to the construction of their main stand.

 

[The Nightfly]

I seem to remember Clydebank switching quite a few of their home matches to away ones when the Kilbowie pitch was suffering badly during one winter of a Premier League campaign in the mid- 80s. They also had a run of home games towards the end of that season. I'll try to find out the details.

 

Edit

They played 5 consecutive away matches during the winter of season 1985/86. Taking games either side of that into consideration it was 8/10 aways.

They then finished the season with 6 consecutive home matches, expanding to 7/8.

Beating Rangers did not prevent them finishing bottom of the league. However, league reconstruction was hurriedly planned in order to save the full-time players of Motherwell (as they had looked like being bottom dogs) from being relegated and therefore part-time Clydebank gratefully prepared for a 3rd ever season in the top flight.

[Cosmic Joe]

We've explored this topic before (sort of)

 

[Jacksgranda]

Last season (or it may have been the season before) Ballymena United had a hoor of an amount of away games in the Irish League in the first half of the season due to pitch work.