In May 1969, Watford were promoted to the second tier along with Town - who had lost out on their first title since joining the Football League on goal average.

Three years later, while Swindon were sat comfortably in mid-table, the Hornets had recorded only one win since November and had already been relegated when they journeyed to the County Ground on 25 April.

Manager Dave Mackay made three changes from the side that had lost at Norwich three days earlier. Teenager Jimmy Allan replaced Peter Downsborough in goal and two 20-year-olds snapped up from local clubs - Richard Legg and David Moss - were given their first starts in attack.

Allan dealt well with two early threats from the visitors, acrobatically turning a long-range effort from full-back David Butler over the crossbar and then reacting swiftly to collect a short back-pass from Ray Bunkell before it was seized upon by Billy Jennings.

Legg - deputising for the unfit Arthur Horsfield - also announced his arrival, heading down a through ball before hitting a shot on the turn that went narrowly over.

Two minutes before the interval, Don Rogers tested Andy Rankin with a stinging right-foot effort from 25 yards but there was no reprieve for Watford as Peter Noble headed Swindon in front barely a minute later.

Moss whipped in a cross from the right for the number ten to beat his marker Colin Franks and register his tenth goal of the season.

That soon became eleven when, from a Rogers free-kick, Noble headed his and Town’s second of the game ten minutes after the restart. Rogers almost made it three when another of his set pieces resulted in Duncan Welbourne clearing off the line.

And another goal-line clearance denied Noble the chance of a hat-trick in the dying moments of the game.

But the Sunderland-born striker was to add a further three goals to his tally in the final two fixtures, one at home to Orient and a brace at Preston, both ending in 2-2 draws.