6 – 2023 Bolton Wanderers (A) 0-3
At this point, I still had a little faith in Mark Kennedy. Bolton away was always going to be tough, and I brushed off the defeat in the context of the season, just a troubling opening day and our first defeat at this stage since Rotherham in 2010.
It turned out to be reflective of what was to come – all huff and no puff. Kennedy was gone by Christmas, and our curse at Bolton’s new stadium rumbled on.
5 – 1996 Torquay United (A), 1-2
Torquay nearly went out of the league in 1995/96, saved only by Stevenage having a rubbish ground not fit for the league. That meant we went to Plainmoor on the opening day full of the joys of summer. John Beck was about to start his first full season (and what a season it would be), and this looked like a great platform to kick it off.
For the record, I was due to go to the game with a girl from my school called Caroline, and I was very excited, but she ghosted me the week before, and I stayed home, all sad. Glad I did in the end – a 93rd-minute goal cost us a point.