Nene derby

The first match between two clubs took place in the final of 1936–37 Maunsell Cup at London Road and ended in a 3–2 away victory for Northampton Town. The first official competitive game took place in the second round of 1946–47 FA Cup at London Road and ended in a 1–1 draw, forcing a replay at Northampton Town's County Ground which also ended in another 1-1 draw. The second replay was played on a neutral venue at Highfield Road, Coventry, where Northampton won 8–1 and this victory still stands as the largest victory and the highest scoring match in the history of the derby.

Peterborough United won the Midland Football League five times in a row between 1956 and 1960 before being accepted into the Football League ahead of the 1960–61 season. First ever derby was played in the league for the first time in that season, with the first game ending in a 3–3 draw and the return fixture ending in a 0–3 win for Peterborough. Both teams were promoted to the Third Division as Peterborough won the league and Northampton finished third. Both teams played in the Third Division for the next two seasons before Northampton were promoted as champions in 1962–63 season.

The two teams did not play each other in the league again until the 1967–68 Third Division after Northampton's run in the second and first tier.

Peterborough were relegated into the Fourth Division ahead of the 1979–80 season. Both teams played in the Fourth Division for eight consecutive seasons until Northampton were promoted as champions in the 1986–87 season. The derby was also played twice in the FA Cup and twice in the League Cup during this period, bringing the total to twenty matches in eight years. The biggest victory over this period was a 6–0 home victory for Peterborough on 24 April 1984. Northampton recorded a 0–5 away victory on 12 October 1985.

In the 2019–20 season, Peterborough finished seventh in League One whilst Northampton won the League Two play-offs, meaning that the Nene derby returned for the 2020-21 League One season. Following Northampton's promotion, Peterborough United chairman, Darragh MacAnthony congratulated them and referred to the derby as "The one real 'local' rivalry I've experienced in 15 years at Posh."^[2] The first derby of the season was played two days after the death of Tommy Robson, Peterborough's record appearance maker who started his career with Northampton, and was played behind closed doors due to COVID-19 restrictions. Peterborough won the match 0–2 with goals scored by Nathan Thompson and Reece Brown.^[3] The second league derby of the season was originally scheduled to take place on Saturday 17 April 2021, however, all English football matches on that day were rescheduled as a mark of respect for the funeral of Prince Philip.^[4][5]

While the proximity of the clubs was the main root of the rivalry between Northampton Town and Peterborough United, other events have fueled the division. Most notable among these are the violent confrontations between fans, famously the "Battle of Abington Park" in April 1974 when approximately 500 fans clashed before, during and after a derby. An eyewitness was quoted as saying "It was like a battle scene from a film where everyone converged to carry out personal duels. I have never seen anything like it." Some of the evidence presented in the court case that followed included "Sticks with nails embedded in the end, part of a brick, broken bottles, a large beer can and a pint mug."^[6]

Aside from fan violence, animosity has arisen over transfers between the clubs with Northampton fans accusing Peterborough of poaching players. It has been said that "Northampton fans have never forgiven Peterborough for taking star strikers Tony Adcock and Bobby Barnes when the Cobblers were cash strapped."^[7] This, however, has not stopped players from crossing the divide. Gabriel Zakuani, for example, signed for Northampton in 2016 after making 252 appearances for Peterborough.^[8]

As of 5 March 2024.^[9]

Official major competitions

As of 5 March 2024. Only goals scored in official major competitions.

Rank	Player	Club(s)	Years	League	FA Cup	League Cup	EFL Trophy	Overall
1	Jim Hall	Northampton/Peterborough	1963–1967 (N) 1967–1975 (P) 1965–1978 (N)	7	1	0	0	8
2	Peter McNamee	Peterborough	1955–1965	5	0	0	0	5
	Tommy Robson	Northampton/Peterborough	1961–1966 (N) 1969–1981 (P)	3	2	0	0
	Ian Benjamin	Peterborough/Northampton	1982–1984 (P) 1984–1987 (N)	2	1	0	2
	Archie Garrett	Northampton	1946–1947	0	5	0	0
6	Errington Kelly	Peterborough	1984–1986 1987–1988	4	0	0	0	4
	John Cozens	Peterborough	1973–1978	4	0	0	0
	John Fairbrother	Peterborough/Northampton	1965–1968 (P) 1968–1971 (N)	3	0	1	0
	Phil Chard	Peterborough/Northampton	1978–1985 (P) 1985–1988 (N) 1989–1994 (N)	2	0	1	1

As of 5 March 2024.

Official Apps. Rank Player Club Apps 1   Tommy Robson Northampton Peterborough 18 2   Phil Chard Peterborough Northampton 15 3   Jim Hall Northampton Peterborough 14   Wakeley Gage Northampton Peterborough 5   Ian Benjamin Peterborough Northampton 13   Peter Gleasure Northampton 7   Graham Felton Northampton 12   Trevor Quow Peterborough Northampton   Trevor Slack Peterborough Northampton 10   Jack Carmichael Peterborough 11 11   Barry Tucker Northampton 10   David Farrell Peterborough   Mark Tyler Peterborough   Mick Drewery Peterborough

Including Minor & Regional Apps. Rank Player Club Apps 1   Tommy Robson Northampton Peterborough 22 2   Phil Chard Peterborough Northampton 15   Jim Hall Northampton Peterborough 4   Wakeley Gage Northampton Peterborough 14 5   Ian Benjamin Peterborough Northampton 13   Peter Gleasure Northampton 7   Graham Felton Northampton 12   Trevor Quow Peterborough Northampton   Trevor Slack Peterborough Northampton 10   Jack Carmichael Peterborough 11   Barry Tucker Northampton

Player	For	Score	Date	Competition	Stadium	Ref.
Archie Garrett4	Northampton	1–8 (N)	23 December 1946	1946–47 FA Cup	Highfield Road	[10]
Colin Garwood	Peterborough	4–0 (H)	4 May 1968	1967–68 Third Division	London Road	[11]

Notes

• ⁴ = 4 goals scored; (H) = Home, (A) = Away, (N) = Neutral location

• Friendly matches are not included in the following records unless otherwise noted.